Malaysia bars foreigners from Johor's US$100b Forest City project that drew Chinese buyers

Syirah Das | 27 August 2018

Malaysia will not allow foreigners to buy residential units built at the US$100 billion (S$136 billion) Forest City project in Johor, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday (Aug 27).

The project has been wracked by uncertainty since Tun Mahathir's coalition scored a shock victory at a May general election, as developer Country Garden Holdings Co looks to revive faltering demand for its plans to build a city that would be home to 700,000 people.

"One thing is certain, that city that is going to be built cannot be sold to foreigners. We are not going to give visas for people to come and live here," Dr Mahathir told reporters at a press conference.

"Our objection is because it was built for foreigners, not built for Malaysians. Most Malaysians are unable to buy those flats."

Responding, Country Garden Pacificview, the joint-venture company developing Forest City, said that Dr Mahathir's comments may have been taken out of context.

In a statement of clarification issued on Monday afternoon, the company said: "We are currently in touch with the Prime Minister’s Office for clarifications, as we believe Tun Mahathir’s comments may have been taken out of context in certain media reports.

Mr Yeung had a 40-minute closed-door meeting with Dr Mahathir on Aug 16, before the Prime Minister's visit to Beijing, the statement added.