KUALA LUMPUR: In a follow-up to its media statement on April 26, Berjaya Corporation Bhd said its lawyer has lodged a police report against Bloomberg LP and The Edge Singapore about their alleged publication of false news regarding the Forest City project in Johor.
“We lodged the report on April 26 itself, so the police can commence investigations on the matter, specifically to ascertain the purported ‘unnamed source’ who disseminated completely untrue and false statements.”
In its statement issued late on Sunday night, Berjaya Corporation said it represented Berjaya Group founder and adviser Tan Sri Vincent Tan.
It referred to the articles published on April 25 – “Malaysia In Talks With Tycoons On Casino To Revive $100 Billion Forest City” published by Bloomberg LP, and “Malaysia Mulls Casino At Forest City” in The Edge Singapore.
The company reiterated that Tan had not participated in discussions with any parties, including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Genting Group chairman Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay or any representatives of His Majesty the King of Malaysia Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar or His Majesty himself.
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The statement refuted all inaccurate claims presented in the articles.
“We strongly believe that the publications and/or republications of the articles, which contained completely false and untrue statements, were made with malicious intent.
“They are aimed at causing political upheaval, undermining public trust and distorting the public’s perception of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim and Anwar.”
It added that such “malicious publications” are further aggravated by the fact that neither news agency had made any attempt to verify or confirm the veracity and accuracy of the statements in the articles before publishing them, especially when they were attributed to an “unnamed source”.
Expressing confidence that police will do the necessary to investigate the matter, the statement called for any publication to be more tactful and not make allegations without prior verification.
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In an earlier statement on April 26, Tan denied that he had discussions with Anwar about opening a casino to revive the US$100 billion (RM476 billion) Forest City project in Johor.
Referring to the two articles, Berjaya Corporation said: “They have misrepresented our supposed involvement in discussions with Anwar regarding the Forest City project and we wish to make it clear that Tan has not participated in any such discussions”.
It called on the two publications to take appropriate action to clarify and remove the misleading content from the articles across all platforms, and cease further dissemination of the inaccurate information.
Responding on April 25 to the allegations in the two publications, Anwar also denied claims that the government will issue a licence to operate a casino in Forest City.
Speaking to reporters after attending the Madani Muhibbah Aidilfitri 2024 event in Putrajaya, he said: “There’s no such thing, (The issue of) the casino licence is a hoax. Not true.”
Berjaya Corporation is listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad and is a diversified consumer group with four core business segments – retail (food & non-food), hospitality, property and services.
Its business interests under the segments include, among others, consumer marketing, financial services, hotels and resorts, recreation, gaming, environmental services, motor trading and distribution, telecommunications, IT and investment holding.
