KUALA LUMPUR: The Housing and Local Government Ministry is studying the possibility of allowing local authorities to take action against operators who abuse family entertainment licences.
Its minister, Zuraida Kamaruddin, said the ministry was looking into having a provision where the local authorities could take action against licence abusers.
Currently, she said, the licences were issued by the local authorities, but police were responsible for enforcement.
“There have been cases where local authorities had received complaints, but they could not take action” she said at the Parliament lobby today.
Asked whether the ministry would issued a directive to local authorities to stop issuing family entertainment licences, Zuraidah said: “Let me study it first based on the current situation and statistics.
“I can only make the decision to temporarily halt the issuance of such licences after that.”
Yesterday, Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Rosli Ab Rahman suggested that the issuance of family entertainment licences be stopped.
This is because there have been too many cases of operators turning family entertainment centres into gambling dens.