Political patronage is the biggest constraint preventing law enforcers from taking action against online gambling syndicates, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told the Dewan Rakyat today.
He said these syndicates are protected by politicians who benefit from the illegal pacts,” he said in parliament today.
“There is indeed an element of political patronage over these players.
“From this (political patronage) comes protection and influence, corruption and bribery.
“These players (syndicates) are protected, whereby information is leaked, ensuring no action is taken against them, and in return, these players repay their political masters.”
He was responding to a question from Ramanan Ramakrishnan (Sungai Buloh-PH), who asked about the ministry’s efforts to address online gambling activities and if there was political patronage preventing police from taking action against syndicates.
Saifuddin said among problems faced by the Home Ministry in punishing online gambling syndicates are “weak laws that exist”.
“In terms of legislation, we have the two – the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953 and Betting Act 1953. These have been there for almost 70 years and they have not been amended,” Saifuddin said.
“In 1953, gambling at that time probably only involved cockfighting. Right now, there is online gambling, but the act we use is still the same.
“Even if the police want to take action, when (syndicates) challenge it in court – online gambling is not included in both the acts. So, they’ll walk free.
“We must have the political will to amend it. I will discuss this with the prime minister because these acts are under the regulation of the Finance Ministry,” he said.
The home minister said the ministry works closely with several others, including the Communications and Digital Ministry as well as Bank Negara (BNM).
“We work with BNM because these syndicates must have data on financial transactions, payment method, transaction volume, source of funds, and money laundering patterns.
“All this is on the police radar and these data are crucial for us to perform targeted operations and take action,” he said.
Saifuddin said from 2021 to May 2023, 2,119 illegal gambling websites have been blocked.
“When we block, they have mirror sites.
“We are also creating public awareness, asking them not to get involved, but now, on Telegram, they (syndicates) will invite us.
“If the government blocks Telegram, we are said to be not business friendly.This is a new threat,” he said.
Saifuddin said it is not only the responsibility of the government to combat the issue of illegal online gambling, but also all Malaysians who do not want this scourge to destroy society. – TMI