PUTRAJAYA (April 25): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday denied claims that the government will issue a licence for the operation of a casino in Forest City, Johor.

Speaking to reporters after attending the Madani Muhibbah Aidilfitri 2024 event jointly organised by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government and the Ministry of Communications here on Thursday, Anwar, in a brief reply, said: “There’s no such thing, (the issue of) the casino licence is a hoax. Not true.”

Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said this in response to the report published by an international news portal, Bloomberg, claiming that he had met with Berjaya Corp Bhd founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan and Genting Group chief executive officer and chairman Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay last week to discuss the matter.

The report stated that discussions on the issuance of the licence are still at the initial stage.

The Forest City project in Gelang Patah started in 2015 and has 28,000 completed residential units to date, with the first man-made island, measuring 560 hectares, serving as the development's major focus.

Forest City is also home to two hotels, two international golf courses, the largest Industrial Building System (IBS) prefabricated factory in Malaysia, Shattuck St Mary Forest City International School and a water theme park.