Dr Lo’ Lo’ Mohamed Ghazali (PAS MP for Titiwangsa) asked the Minister of Finance to clarify if the Government Linked Companies (GLCs) Amanah Raya Nominees Sdn Bhd (ARN) and Pertubuhan Keselamatan Sosial (PERKESO) had any investment in Magnum Corporation Sdn Bhd.
Magnum is a licensed 4D gaming company, while betting is considered haram in Islam. The Finance Minister admitted that ARN and PERKESO did have shareholdings in the licensed betting company, He added that those shares had been divested on 17th June 2008.
UMNO has criticized Penang’s RM100 Senior Citizen Allowance as being funded by gambling money, which is forbidden in Islam. This allegation has been proven to be untrue when the Penang State Government revealed that its sources for welfare aid for Muslims did not come from gaming revenue.
The welfare aid funds were a direct result of the state administration’s frugality and adherence to the principals of competency, accountability and transparency (CAT), which allowed the state to set aside RM20 million for the welfare programme.
On the other hand, the legions of pro-UMNO cyber-troopers were unusually quiet when this piece of news came to light. Why did no BN reps raise questions in Parliament when it was revealed that these GLCs had owned a stake in the gaming company? Clearly, double standards were applied. -The Rocket
