Accept the High Court’s ruling, says Ho

DAPSY National Varsity Affairs Bureau director Ho Chi Yang called on the Kedah state government to accept the High Court’s ruling that its decision to cease issuing and renewing gambling licenses is unconstitutional.

On June 20th, the Alor Setar High Court ruled that the Kedah State government’s action in stopping gambling license issuance is unconstitutional.

The state government has decided to appeal against the ruling.

Ho believes the High Court’s decision underscores Malaysia’s constitutional guarantee of personal freedom and upholds the societal cornerstone of multiculturalism, which is crucial for the future development of the country and society.

“Following the Sheraton Move political upheaval, the Kedah state government, led by Pas and Umno, hastily announced the cessation of gambling company operations, which was originally a political gimmick to appease conservative forces.

“This decision has now been overturned by the High Court, revealing that the previous Perikatan Nasional (PN) government’s hasty decision exceeded and violated the constitutional framework, proving it unreasonable and unlawful, becoming a farce, and causing a group of gambling industry employees to lose their jobs and their families to lose income for no reason,” he said via a Facebook post.

In addition, he also refuted Pas Kedah’s assertions from yesterday that gambling addiction has caused social disharmony in the state, pointing out that no non-PN-governed state has ever experienced the social disharmony claimed by PAS.

The so-called gambling ban policy is fundamentally a pretext to suppress the rights of non-Muslims to freely choose their lifestyles.

“I do not advocate gambling, but the government should not abuse its power to restrict people’s lifestyles with public policies.

“On the contrary, the government should respect multiculturalism and believe that people have enough maturity to make judgments, regardless of religion and race, to freely choose their desired way of life,” he said.

Although the Kedah state government lost the lawsuit, they can still appeal.

The state government should reexamine policies that disregard the rights of non-Muslims and address livelihood issues.