Kedah PKR has told Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor to stop dragging Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim into the state’s gambling licence dispute, according to The Star.
The party said Sanusi should instead acknowledge his own administration’s shortcomings on the matter, the report added.
The exchange follows Sanusi’s recent statements criticising the federal government over gambling permits in Kedah. The Star reports that Kedah PKR’s response was direct, telling the menteri besar not to involve the prime minister in an issue that is within the state’s purview.
Separately, Free Malaysia Today reported that the federal government has confirmed it has not issued any new gambling permits, with existing licences dating back to the 1990s. That report contradicts suggestions that the current administration has expanded gambling operations.
Malaysiakini, meanwhile, highlighted legal opinions that Kedah lacks the constitutional authority to unilaterally ban gambling, a point that adds a legal dimension to the political spat.
The dispute has also drawn in national figures. NST Online reported that Sanusi has invited Ramkarpal Singh, a former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, to preach against gambling in Kedah, a challenge that appears aimed at shifting the debate onto moral grounds.
Commentary from the Sarawak Tribune has questioned whether a gambling ban would make Malaysia more moral, suggesting the issue is being framed in ideological terms rather than practical ones.
What to watch next is whether Sanusi responds to Kedah PKR’s latest salvo, and whether the federal government’s clarification on licence issuance cools the political temperature or fuels further exchanges.
