The plans call for reclamation of 810 hectares of land off the west coast of Langkawi island on which 30,000 luxury apartments, commercial centres and facillities for yachting and cruise liners would be built.
Mahathir said: “That is his dream to build a city like KL in Langkawi. Everyone can dream. We cannot stop them from dreaming. But whether they get the approval or not is another matter.”
Kedah menteri besar Mukhriz Mahathir had said today that he was puzzled by news of the project, which had yet to receive any approval from the state government. A proposal had been submitted when he was previously in office, but no project deposit had been made.
In response, Ting told reporters this evening that he had made submissions previously to the three different Kedah state governments in power between 2008 and now, including a previous Mukhriz-led government.
He was not aware that a deposit was needed, and said he would submit a fresh proposal.
Ting rose to prominence during Mahathir’s earlier days in power by building a resort hotel in Langkawi in record time. His companies undertook to build the massive Bakun dam and a commercial centre, Plaza Rakyat, in central Kuala Lumpur, but both projects were stymied and his companies went bust.
Mahathir noted that Ting had gone bankrupt during the time of former prime minister Najib Razak, and now wanted to revive his own business.
“That is Ting’s business. Whoever wants to do business here, they can come. We support all businesses,” he told reporters after chairing a meeting of the Langkawi branch of his party, PPBM.
Yesterday, Ting resurfaced after 16 years out of the limelight to announce plans for the multi-billion-ringgit property development.
This evening he called an impromptu press conference to explain that he had, on several occasions, applied for approval for the project, when Kedah was governed by the Pakatan Rakyat between 2008 and 2013.
“I also applied for it again when Mukhriz Mahathir was Kedah MB, then under Barisan Nasional, but I was not aware that we had to make a deposit payment for the project,” he said at the Century Langkasuka hotel today, where a model of the proposed development is on display.
He said he would submit a new proposal to the Kedah government as soon as possible.
Mukhriz had said today that the initial proposal was no longer under consideration and that any new development proposal had to be officially submitted for the state government’s consideration.
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