Anthony Adam Cho, a council member of the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda), said local developers and the Malaysian public had become concerned by the volume of Chinese-built housing projects in recent years.
Recently Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, while leader of the opposition, had criticised the US$100 billion (RM398 billion) Forest City project in Johor which was being promoted to buyers in China and the Middle East.
He had said that foreigners who stayed at Forest City could live there forever and there was no ruling that would prevent them from becoming citizens after living there for years.
Cho said that projects which had been approved would have to carry on, but the government must ensure that the Chinese developers adhere to the relevant rules, policies and law.
“The government should review those housing projects by foreign developers which haven’t been approved,” he told FMT. There were concerns over the feasibility of the projects, owing to their scale and viability.
He said Chinese developers had great advantages in size and resources, and an influx of Chinese companies had affected the livelihood of Malaysian developers.
Foreign companies also enjoyed benefits such as tax holidays which were denied to local developers. “We hope that the government will engage with local developers, especially Rehda, and protect local developers and all their employees,” he said.
Another piece of prime land, in KL, bought by China developer