JOHOR BARU: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s efforts to intimidate Johoreans with statements about Chinese nationals being given citizenships at the mammoth Forest City project will not succeed, says Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
The Johor Mentri Besar said Dr Mahathir’s allegations about the US$100bil (RM443bil) investments in the project were not based on facts and he was “out to scare the people of Johor”.
“The total land size of the state is 1.8 million hectares while the total land size affected in the Forest City project is only 1.977ha, which is only 0.108% of the land in Johor.
“With only less than 1% of the area involved, it is impossible for the China mainlanders to occupy the state and this shows that Dr Mahathir is only making the accusation to scare Johoreans,” he said.
“The Forest City project is a state government project while the investors are foreigners who happen to be from China.
“It is not 100% foreign-owned as locals have a 42% stake in it,” he said at the Muafakat Johor Chinese New Year Bazaar 2017 organised by the Pasir Gudang Tiong Hua Association here in Taman Johor Jaya.
He added that the project, expected to complete in 30 years, is important as the state now needs big projects to compete with Singapore.
“The world economy is very challenging now and without foreign investments, we will be faced with a worsening economic situation,” he said.
Khaled said there was no proof to allegations that some 700,000 Chinese would get citizenships by buying property at Forest City.
“I believe the rules applied by our Immigration Department are very strict as it is impossible for Chinese mainlanders to get Malaysian nationality only by purchasing a house in the state,” he said.
In an exclusive interview with The Star, Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar accused Dr Mahathir of fear-mongering by playing racial politics that he claimed had no place in the state.
The Ruler said then he was “deeply offended and hurt” by the political spin against mainland Chinese investments in the state.
He singled out Dr Mahathir for “putting political interests above Malaysian interests, particularly Johor”.
In response, Dr Mahathir said in a letter to The Star that he was quoting a report by Bloomberg on the details of Forest City, of which he said has yet to be challenged nor denied.-THESTAR
