Malaysian Politician Gagged Over Forest City Casino Comments

The politician and activist Badrul Hisham Shaharin was placed under gag order by a Malaysian court to keep quiet about his ongoing litigation.

The lawsuit is related to comments he made regarding a Bloomberg article about a proposed casino project in Forest City, Johor.

The Johor Bahru High Court overturned an earlier decision to deny an application for a gag order, leading to this ruling. Criminal defamation and sedition are the two charges against Badrul, also known as Chegu Bard.

These accusations stem from remarks he made in April on his Facebook page, which purportedly alluded to the Bloomberg probe.

The judge justified the gag order by citing the need to stop more seditious remarks, particularly ones that would target the nation’s king.

After being taken into custody the day before, Badrul entered a not guilty plea to the charges on April 29. As to the Bloomberg story, the Prime Minister of Malaysia along with executives from Berjaya and Genting Group have refuted any discussions on a casino license for Forest City.

The only casino license in Malaysia is currently held by Genting Berhad, and the prime minister has indicated that he has no plans to challenge this monopoly.

See Related Articles: Genting Malaysia and Berjaya Corp Deny Involvement in Proposed Casino Project Amidst Allegations

Original Story by: Asian Gaming Brief