Shocked by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s statement on the Forest City sale ban on foreigners, the state government of Johor will seek clarification from the Prime Minister’s Department regarding the restriction.
This comes as matters related to water, land and forest are within the state government’s purview, said Johor Housing and Rural Development Committee Chairman Dzulkefly Ahmad.
“We are still trying to make sense of this new move, as we have yet to be informed,” he said.
He noted that Johor already have in place a requirement that foreigner can only acquire properties worth RM1 million and above.
“The previous government also introduced policies to include international zones within the project and other parts of Johor,” said Dzulkefly, referring to zones where foreigners can buy units, reported The Star.
Federal Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said the ban on foreign buyers at the 13.86 sq km project has yet to be formalised in a policy.
With this, she urged project developer Country Garden Pacificview to contact her ministry to clarify the statement made by PM Mahathir, reported Malay Mail Online.
“For the time being, it is still undecided if they can sell property to foreigners,” she said. “We must assess and then provide the prime minister with a report.”
She revealed that the prime minister has ordered her ministry to form a committee that will reassess deals involving the sale of residential units at Forest City.
Aside from her ministry, the committee will consist of the Johor state government, the Finance Ministry and developers.
Dr Dzulkefly expect the move by the federal government to have a significant impact on the state’s real estate sector. As such, he hopes that all parties involved would not jump into conclusions over the prime minister’s statement.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Office emphasised that foreigners wanting to reside in Malaysia will have to apply for a permanent residency via the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) program, reported The Edge.
However, it noted that the purchase of properties alone does not guarantee automatic residency within the country.
It explained that Malaysia imposes certain conditions on properties acquired by foreigners, with the information on the conditions available to the public.
It added that the country welcomes all tourists including those from China and no restrictions are imposed on foreign tourists provided they meet all of Malaysia’s immigration requirements.
Image sourced from Forest City
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
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