THE police want Kuala Lumpur City Hall and its “2,000 men” to play their part in eradicating illegal gambling in the city.
Relying mainly on the police to tackle the problem would be impractical, said Federal Police Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Mohmad Salleh.
“This is under their scope of enforcement. They are the local authority. It’s unacceptable. Don’t they have any of their men patrolling the area? These outlets are located at a popular spot. They should be doing something about it,” he said.
City Hall, he added, could not expect the police to tackle the gambling issue on its own as they had the whole country to monitor. This, he said, was unlike the responsibility of the City Hall, which oversees only Kuala Lumpur.
“They are well empowered, given the number of enforcers they have. I can’t say for sure, but I was told that they have about 2,000 (enforcers). They should not have missed something like this.
City Hall must play a more active part in clamping down on illegal gambling dens.”
Mohmad said gambling dens in the city were driven by operators who abused their licence.
“As the issuing authority, it must be on the ground to check for abuse of licence.
“We are ready to be involved in integrated operations. But to delegate the responsibility 100 per cent to the police is ridiculous.”