He said the minister, Khalid Samad, should not attack the chamber for proposing a price of RM2,000 per square foot for the land in the historic enclave of traditional Malay houses.

Referring to the council by its Malay initials, Najib said: “DPMM is not a political party and not a politician.  Why are you attacking them? Attack me,” he said in an online posting today.

The chamber had questioned the government’s proposal to buy Kampung Baru land at RM850 per square foot, which the chamber said was lower than the current market value.

The chamber’s secretary-general Amirhamzah Karim suggested that the purchase be managed through a long-term lease project, such as in Singapore.

In a sarcastic response, Khalid said in an official statement that he would welcome the chamber’s acquisition of the land for RM2,000 per square foot and said he was confident the chamber would be able to secure financial support to make the purchase possible.

Najib reminded Khalid that the chamber, as a private organisation, would not be able to raise the billions needed to buy the land.

The chamber also did not have the power to change the terms concerning the land after the purchase, and had no power to set up a home-ownership campaign for foreigners in the event of houses being unsold, he said.

“Do you understand?” he said.

The federal government recently came under criticism when housing minister Zuraida Kamaruddin proposed a home-ownership campaign for foreigners to buy up a glut of high-end properties in Malaysia.

Najib also challenged Khalid to come up with proof that Najib, while prime minister, had offered only RM300 per square foot to Kampung Baru landowners.