The man who has been giving gambling a bad name recently finally resigned as division chief yesterday amidst calls for further investigations. Former Chief Minister Datuk Seri Haji Osu Sukam was ordered by the High Court in London in November 2003 to pay US$1.87 million in gambling debts to the Ritz Casino, a debt that the company has unsuccessfully pursued in Malaya. Osu reportedly owes another London casino a similar amount and has settled a debt with the Crown Casino in Australia.

On 5 July a Malaysian judge dismissed an application by Ritz Hotel Casino Ltd and RHC Ltd to have the debt registered as a judgement of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak in order to enforce the English ruling and recover the debt. The companies have thirty days in which to appeal the decision. The judge, Justice Ian Chin, stated that any profit made from gambling could be said to be profit from vice, and equated it with prostitution.

Yesterday the extent of Osu’s gambling activities in London was revealed to Parliament in Kuala Lumpur by the Opposition Leader, and the figures are startling. In five months of 2002 the former Chief Minister gambled around US$16.82 million. A request by the Opposition to debate the issue was denied by the Speaker who stated that the matter was not urgent and not in the public interest. The terms of the settlement between Osu and the Crown Casino, Melbourne remain confidential, but is understood that the matter was resolved yesterday.

The Opposition Party in Malaya will doubtless wish to pursue the manner in which such vast quantities of money were available to the former Sabah Chief Minister for wagering, and the Ritz will doubtless pursue the debt in the Malaysian Court of Appeal. The subject may not yet be closed, but it puts neither gambler nor operator in a good light. Whether amounts wagered are small or large, social responsibility and early recognition of the signs of gambling addiction should prevent such cases ever getting to the courts. (E-07.13.05)

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