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Sunday, June 27, 2010

Chua: Channel gaming tax to different fund

--->Guest of honour: Dr Chua leaving after opening KSM’s annual general meeting yesterday. With him is KSM chairman Datuk Lo Kong Boon (right).


KUALA LUMPUR: A different fund should be set up for tax revenue collected from legalised betting that has been previously approved by the Government, said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

The fund could be used for education, welfare and social services, he suggested.

“It is time to set up a different fund which should be used for education, welfare and social services.

Guest of honour: Dr Chua leaving after opening KSM’s annual general meeting yesterday. With him is KSM chairman Datuk Lo Kong Boon (right).

“We can even use the fund to educate people not to gamble. We can educate our younger generation to stay away from gambling,” he said, citing examples of legalised betting such as Magnum, Sports Toto and the Genting Highlands casino.

Currently, all the revenues that the Government collects go to a consolidated fund, he told reporters after opening Koperasi Serbaguna Malaysia Bhd’s (KSM) 31st annual general meeting at Wisma MCA yesterday.

Dr Chua said the party respected the Government’s decision not to issue the sports betting licence.

“However, (the decision) will not stop illegal sports betting in the country which is said to amount to RM10bil a year,” he said.

“The enforcement units should intensify operations against illegal gambling.”
On Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that the Government would not issue the sports betting licence following feedback from the public which indicated their objection towards it.

Previously, the MCA had said that sports gaming should be allowed but it must be regulated and strictly managed.

Dr Chua also said that it was wrong to say that gambling was part of Chinese culture.

On another issue, he said the party did not want its deputy ministers and ministers to use their positions for their own benefit.
“It will destroy the party. They have to show leadership by example,” he said.
Dr Chua said MCA was solely a political party and not directly involved in any business.
“We let the professionals manage our party assets and report to the party central committee at least twice a year,” he said.

This, he said, was to ensure all MCA leaders concentrated on politics, which encompass national development including economic issues.

Earlier in his speech, Dr Chua said KSM had gone through difficult times but it was now financially more independent and stable.

“The KSM will always have the undivided and wholehearted support of MCA,” he said.

THE STAR (Sunday June 27, 2010)

1 comment:

kiddokit said...

Eh, don't talk so much about yourself and your grandiose plans to curb sports betting. The best plan yet was from Lim Guan Eng and Khalid Ibrahim -- just ban them!

Have you apologized to Guan Eng for slighting him when he (and the majority rakyat) was right all along? And you were so wrong from the beginning???

Your blog slogan says "Change..." but you can't even do that with regards to your subservient attitude towards Najib. What he says, goes!

When it was so damn clear many rakyat were anti-sports betting, you gave it your blessings (to score brownie points with Najib, I suppose). What change are you talking about???

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