This is because, he said, if Johor did not undertake this project, and the buyers went to Singapore as usual, Malaysia would get zero revenue while there would be more capital outflows into Singapore – especially from Malaysians who were the second biggest buyers of Singapore residential properties.
See-To said there would be no revenue for the locals to supply materials for the project nor would there be jobs for the locals during the construction of the project
“There will also not be any revenue such as quit rent or assessment for the Johor government to collect every year from Forest City – a figure than can easily reach hundreds of millions per year.”
Also, he said, when the project was completed and occupied, local merchants would benefit from the demand and purchasing power of the richer population in Forest City.
See-To was replying to a renewed attack by PPBM chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad on land being sold off to foreigners, including that on which the Forest City project is being built.
Speaking at the first PPBM annual general meeting two days ago, Dr Mahathir said: “Our land will be completely sold, no matter what happens to Forest City. I hope Forest City will truly become a forest… Its residents will consist of baboons, monkeys and so on.”
Saying once sold, these pieces of land would no longer belong to Malaysians, the former prime minister added: “Once upon a time before, the island of Temasek, which is today known as Singapore, was also sold off. We sold the land to the British… Now it is no longer our country.”
See-To pointed out that the land on which Forest City was being built was reclaimed land.
“It was never an existing Johor land. This is not existing land at all – so no question of our existing land being ‘sold’ to foreigners. After reclamation, the total size is only 0.01% of the land mass of Johor.
“The foreigners do not buy landed properties there. They buy strata-titled condominiums.”
He said the number one attraction marketed by Forest City was its close proximity to Singapore.
“The project is minutes to the bridge to Singapore, will have special immigration facilities to speed up border crossings and will be 40 mins to the middle of the Singapore’s Central Business District.
“This is the closest land in Malaysia to Singapore. The Forest City project will be nowhere near as ambitious or as large or as attractive to foreigners if it is situated anywhere else in Malaysia.”
Noting that the top two foreign buyers of residential properties in Singapore were from China (about 30% to 40% of all transactions) and Malaysia (20% to 30%), See-To said:
“The buyers of Forest City would have bought units in Singapore instead of Forest City. Given Singapore’s aggressive land reclamation in the past, if Malaysia did not reclaim and build Forest City, the Singaporeans would have done this project. If Singapore had done this instead of us, all the money would have gone to Singapore. Malaysia would get nothing.”
See-To noted that unlike the sale of Singapore centuries ago, no sovereignty rights had been ceded to Forest City.
“The entire Forest City is still under the state government and its laws – including the land acquisition act which allows the Johor government to seize back the land at any time it is needed.”