PUTRAJAYA, Aug 28 — Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said the prime minister’s remark that foreigners may not buy units at the Forest City development in Johor has yet to be formalised in policy.
She told the developer to contact her ministry via writing to clarify Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s declaration.
Zuraida added that any resolution must also involve the Finance Ministry and the Johor government.
“For the time being, it is still undecided if they can sell property to foreigners,” she told reporters following the ministry’s National Physical Planning Council meeting.
“We must assess (the situation) and then provide the prime minister with a report.”
Zuraida said she has yet to engage with the project’s developer, Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd (CGPV), adding it would be good if they contacted her ministry to explore the conditions for the sale of Forest City units to foreigners.
When asked to state if CGPV could not currently sell to non-Malaysians, she said only that Dr Mahathir’s remark was plain.
“But so far there has been no official statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) only his (verbal) response to the media,” Zuraida said.
During a press conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Dr Mahathir said in addition to barring foreigners from buying Forest City units, visas will also not be given for them to reside in Malaysia.
The prime minister said he did not agree with a local property development that it is aimed primarily at foreign buyers and priced out of the range of most Malaysians.
The developer responded the same day by saying it fully complied with local laws and regulations pertaining the sale of property to foreign buyers.
Currently, foreigners are restricted to only purchasing property priced RM1 million and above.
