KUALA LUMPUR, January 7th: DAP slammed the government’s action of approving 22 4D Special Draw permits to the NFOs (Number Forecast Operators) in the Malaysian Peninsular for the year 2014.
The approval involves 22 Tuesdays of the years where three major companies will be holding special draws simultaneously.
The three companies – Magnum, Toto Sports and Dmacai will simultaneously see an increase of 66 days for special draws in Peninsular Malaysia.
In Sabah and Sarawak, the sums of special draws are much higher as there are an additional three NFO gambling companies which are operational.
Seremban MP Anthony Loke stressed that the federal government needs to cancel all permits simply to prove that they are not dependent on gambling revenue.
He also questioned whether the irrational action is due to the shortage of ideas in Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Prime Minister’s Office to increase tax revenue.
“Are the additional special draws another step in Najib’s administration to add to the nation’s tax revenue?”
“Year after year, special draw permits increase despite repeated objections by other MPs and myself in the House of Representatives. I object to the addition of 22 days for the the special draws as three draws a week is already excessive and needs to be lessened, not increased,” he mentioned during a press conference at the DAP headquarters here, today.
According to him, additional draws will only add to the losses sustained by customers and lead to increasing instances of loan shark debt as the number of ‘draw’ days stood at 178 this year.
Based on the statement by the Finance Minister during a Parliamentary session last September, RM70.8 million of government tax was attributed to a special draw for the period of January to June of 2013.
He said that the total tax from the betting of six NFOs for the years 2008 to 2013 stood as RM6.3 billion as cited in Parliamentary session last 31st October.
“On average, the government collects RM1.26 billion per year from forecast gambling not including Genting Casinos and slot machines in private clubs or associations.
“For slot machines, total taxes collected amounted to RM73.6 million in 2010, RM77.3 million in 2011 and RM82.4 million in 2012. This income is perceived as ‘Sin Tax’ and is separated into a special account in order to preserve Muslim sensitivity, as urged by Pakatan Rakyat previously.
“Gambling tax should be channelled to provide for the non-Muslim communities such as to vernacular schools and to provide rehabilitation for those gambling addicts,” he said.
