Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad lacks a proper grasp of the concept of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and sovereignty, says Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak.

"Mahathir 's latest blog posting shows his inconsistency and his lack of understanding regarding the meaning of FDI. He also does not understand sovereignty," the minister hit out in a blog post.

He was referring to the ex-Umno president's post yesterday, which lamented that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's move to attract FDI by selling Malaysian land, is akin to selling Singapore to Great Britain during the colonial era.

"The result does not benefit us at all. Much of the most valuable land would be owned and occupied by foreigners. They would become foreign land," said the former prime minister in the blog posting.

Salleh refuted this claim, arguing that Mahathir's "foreign land" remark which refers to sovereignty is way off the mark.

"The United Kingdom (UK), in particular in London, is probably a good example where a lot of property is owned by foreigners. But the UK still has sovereignty over all that property. Only in cases of foreign embassies does it differ.

"If foreigners are allowed to purchase land in Malaysia that enhances the value of the property. That does not give the foreigners sovereignty over the land they bought. They are still on Malaysian soil," said Salleh.

As defined in international treaties, land upon which the embassies of nations are build on foreign soil is considered the sovereign territory of that country.

Meanwhile, countering Mahathir's view on FDI, Salleh explained that attracting FDI comes in many forms.

"It could be manufacturing plants, trading companies, property investments, resorts, clubs, etc. All attract FDIs.

"Mahathir somehow has the notion that FDI only means factories. Even golf courses set up by foreigners attract FDIs," argued the minister.

'What does Mahathir want?'

In his blog post, Mahathir also said that foreigners living on the lands they purchased locally may soon become citizens and participate in local politics.

"Whatever ideology they believe in might change the colour of Malaysian politics," he warned.

Responding to this, Salleh admitted that the heavy presence of foreigners would certainly change the social structure of any country, noting that this was why more than fifty percent of the British people voted in favour of Brexit, though he question's Mahathir's lack of consistency in worrying about such matters.

"But what does Mahathir mean by major impact on the political landscape of the nation in future? Can he be specific? What exactly is he referring to? Is he talking about Malay political power?" asked Salleh.

He pointed out that it is Mahathir who is going around the country saying that Umno, which has long been argued by the powers that be to be the bastion of Malay political power, must be defeated.

"Now he says the opposite. So which one does Mahathir want? Mahathir wants to change the political landscape of Malaysia and then grumbles about the possibility that foreigners will change the political landscape," concluded Salleh.

Najib has boasted that his recent deals with foreign countries, including China, has led to an influx of FDI that he says will galvanise Malaysia's economy, dismissing concerns of burgeoning foreign influence.

Critics however worry that the 'soft loans' and investments from China will make Malaysia beholden to the world superpower not only economically but politically, and is more of a bail-out of failed government ventures like 1MDB, than actual legitimate investments.

They also worry it may open the floodgates of foreign ownership of local infrastructure and real estate, not to mention the immigration of foreigners that may displace locals in some areas.