Citing Dubai’s success, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has defended the government’s attempts to draw foreign investment to the Forest City project in Johor.

He told a crowd of low-cost flat dwellers this morning that Dubai used to be nothing but a barren desert landscape, but was able to draw foreign investment by selling land for development.

“Today Dubai has become a great metropolis and its people earn high incomes. If Dubai can succeed, we too can develop land,” he said.