KUALA LUMPUR: There will be no compromise against police officers and personnel who are found colluding with illegal gambling syndicates, said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The Home Minister said stern action would be taken against them, while urging the public to provide information that could help the authorities in addressing the issue.
“If it is true and there is proof that the police are involved, this is a serious matter. I myself will not allow this to happen.
“However, we need information from the public, on who are involved, the place and time any incident has taken place, among others. Whether you want to report it to the ministry or the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is up to you.
“We will not protect them, and firm action will be taken, if they are proven guilty,” he told the Dewan Rakyat, here, today,
Muhyiddin was responding to Alice Lau (PH-Lanang) that there have been multiple claims from the public of policemen conspiring with gambling syndicate operators to ensure the businesses were not affected.
On a supplementary question on what efforts were being taken to nab the operators and masterminds, and not just the agents, Muhyiddin said the ministry has in recent months utilised the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca) to crack down on several illegal gambling syndicates.
“In 2018 alone, a total of 1,357 arrests were made under Poca, 51 of which were offences relating gambling cases. This is because we consider gambling as a major crime.
“And using Poca has been quite effective in fact. I was informed that gambling syndicates have been reduced quite significantly. And we will not stop,” he said.
Muhyiddin added that the government is also currently studying ways to improve the laws pertaining to gambling, to be in line with current developments.
