A Johor Umno lawmaker has rebutted former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad's claim that the state is giving away freehold land to foreigners in the Forest City development.

Sekijang MP Anuar Manap said the freehold status is only for strata titles and not the land.

"Yes it is a freehold title but it's not for the land, but for the strata. Not an inch of of Johor land is given out as freehold in this case," he told Malaysiakini.

Mahathir had taken photographs with signs advertising freehold properties at the Gelang Patah residential project, to prove his claim that the BN Johor government is selling land to foriegners.

Meanwhile, Anuar said the Forest City project is developed on reclaimed land with the developer charged 30 sen per square feet to compensate the fishermen affected.

"It has nothing to do with the Tanjung Pelepas Port (PTP). The land for the port belongs to PTP and not the government," he added.

He accused Mahathir, who is Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) chairperson, of attempting to provoke people who do not have a proper understanding of the issue.

"They're running out of issues," he said.

Mahathir in a blog posting today implied that Najib had misled the public when he said Malaysia's sovereignty is not undermined by the Forest City project as the units are sold on a 99-year leasehold basis.

The former premier said many Malaysians are unable to convert small plots of land into freehold status while foreigners can easily get this in Forest City.

He also reiterated his concerns over ownership of the project which was almost exclusively marketed to buyers from China.

Forest City, built on 1,400ha reclaimed land in the Straits of Johor, has also been declared a tax free zone.

The RM444 billion project by China’s developer Country Garden sits on four artificial islands that will eventually house 700,000 people with office towers, parks, hotels and shopping malls.