Johor's Forest City 'too expensive' for Malaysians, says developer

JOHOR — Officials from China-backed Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd admitted that its upscale residential development in Forest City, Johor may be too expensive for domestic buyers, the Washington Post reported.

The newspaper quoted an unnamed official who said that Malaysia does not want to see “the Chinese taking over Malaysian land” and that the situation had become “tense” amid the new government’s attempt to rein in foreign ownership in Forest City.

“They hate the way we do business. It is clear that the price of the property is too high for Malaysians and (we have) specifically marketed toward the Chinese,”  the official was quoted as saying.

An unnamed salesman - who was not authorised to speak to media - was also reported saying: “The people who are working in the area probably can’t afford to live here. The majority of our buyers are foreign, and we are worried it would be an empty city if they don’t come.”  

Country Garden Pacific­View is China’s largest property developer by sales, with about 80 per cent of the buyers of the project’s 18,000 units so far have been Chinese nationals.

Since Pakatan Harapan (PH) came to power, Dr Mahathir Mohamad has moved to block or amend rules for Chinese-backed works.

Last month, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said that Malaysia would not allow foreigners to buy residential units in Forest City, which is a joint development by the Chinese developer and the Johor state government. He also said that they were not going to "give visas for people to come and live here", adding that the development was built for foreigners, and not Malaysians. 

The developer then responded by pointing to laws that allow foreigners to purchase land in Malaysia, and the firm said that Dr Mahathir's comments "may have been taken out of context".

Then, on Sept 4, in an abrupt u-turn, Dr Mahathir said that foreigners can buy properties in Forest City.

However, he stressed that the PH government would not issue them visas to make Malaysia their home.

"They can buy the property, but we won't give them visa to come and live here,” he said.

A move against the RM400 billion (S$132.6 billion) Forest City project, could mean no sales for foreigners, “effectively killing the target Chinese market” for the planned development, the Washington Post reported. It also added that the shift in sentiment in Putrajaya has spooked Forest City buyers, some of whom have sold businesses back in China and moved their families in the hope of a better education for their children, or to have a second home for retirement.

“I thought it was a good investment, and I could live there in the future,” said Mr Zhan Xinwu, a 24-year-old from Shenzhen who bought a two-bedroom apartment in 2016, using all his savings for the down payment.

Within the Forest City development is a private school, Shattuck-St. Mary’s School, which opened in August and housed 78 students out of the maximum capacity of 1,000 students it was built for.

Among the 78 students who enrolled, 60 per cent of them are Chinese while tuition fees for a day between grades six and 12 averages US$24,000 (S$33,000) per year.

Country View, which is 34 per cent owned by Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar and Daing A. Malek Daing A. Rahaman, has said that it has complied with laws and regulations and provided jobs to 1,200 Malaysians. AGENCIES