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Forest City: Mahathir tells Umno MP to go back to school

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Former premier rebuts Sekijang rep Anuar Manap’s claim that the freehold status in Forest City is only for strata titles and not the land.

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PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has reproached an Umno MP from Johor for denying that the state was giving away freehold land in the Forest City development project.

The 91-year-old politician said everyone knew that the freehold title was not for strata titles, as claimed by Sekijang MP Anuar Manap, but was for the land in Forest City.

“In everyone’s eyes, the land is freehold. It (advertising banner) says that very clearly,” he told a press conference at the PPBM headquarters here today.

He was referring to banners that were seen on lampposts publicising the freehold offer across Forest City.

Photographs of him and his wife, Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, showing the thumbs-down sign next to some of the boards in Malay, have been shared widely on social media over the past week.

Mahathir, who is Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (PPBM) chairman, suggested that Anuar did not understand Malay. If this was the case, then he “must go back to school”.

In the latest posting on his blog, Chedet, earlier today, Mahathir had said while the government claimed the land sold to China nationals was on a 99-year lease, the billboards and posters showed otherwise.

He also claimed that freehold land would mean that residents of Forest City could stay there forever and there was no ruling that would prevent them from becoming citizens after living there for some years.

Under Malaysian law, anyone who stayed in the country for more than 12 years had the right to become a citizen and vote in elections, he said. There was no guarantee, he added, that this would not be the case with buyers from China with properties in Forest City.

Anuar, in an immediate response, told Malaysiakini the freehold status is only for strata titles and not the land.

“Yes, it is a freehold title but it’s not for the land, but for the strata titles. Not an inch of Johor land is given out as freehold in this case.”

Mahathir had earlier this year criticised the move to attract investors from China for the project. This drew a sharp retort from Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, who accused him of playing racial politics.

The developer of Forest City has gone on a massive promotional campaign in China to attract purchasers there. Some potential buyers are even being flown in to visit the site.

Touted as a futuristic smart city project, Forest City spans some 1,400ha. Costing RM100 billion, it is expected to be completed within 20 years and has a range of facilities, including housing units, offices and shopping malls.

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