The former prime minister, in a blog post, said there were already cases where foreigners in Malaysia were MyKad holders.

“Hence the claim that they will be registered as voters is not that absurd,” he said in response to remarks by Johor Menteri Besar Mohamed Khaled Nordin yesterday.

Khaled yesterday rubbished the elderly statesman’s claim that more than 700,000 Chinese nationals would be brought to Forest City, adding that the allegation did not make sense.

He also said Mahathir made such a claim to provoke and scare Johoreans in a bid to see them fail at achieving their aspirations for the state.

Mahathir went on to question Khaled’s claim that the purchase of properties in Johor by Chinese nationals was to serve as getaway homes during winter and wondered if some sort of agreement had been reached.

“Can you picture 700,000 people flying to Johor just to stay for three months, while the remaining nine months Iskandar JB will be empty? Does this make sense?”

Yesterday, Khaled said that the Forest City project will see the development of business and tourism facilities, a hotel and residences.

The 1,386ha Forest City, he revealed, will be built on four man-made islands in Iskandar Malaysia, while marketing for residential properties in Forest City were not only concentrated in China but also in Australia and the Middle East.

He also explained that the purchase of properties by Chinese nationals was approved based on investment policies.