YOURSAY | ‘It looks like now there is a privileged class of Chinese in M’sia and it’s not Chinese M’sians.’

Mahathir visits Forest City, questions 'freehold' signs

Anonymous #44199885: Ninety-nine years is a long, long time and enough for at least three generations to multiply and grow - three generations of foreigners who are alien to our shared culture, customs and values.

Why should millions of them who do not contribute to our economy and nation building be given tax-free status?

Mind you, if they enjoy tax-free status, then it is Malaysians who will bear the cost and expenses via higher taxation to support the supply of services and infrastructure for them.

Doc: It looks like freehold, sounds like freehold, marketed like freehold, feels like freehold but it is not freehold because Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak says so.

Tony Soprano: At an average of, say, 2.5 persons per household and 700,000 units, that would result in a population of over 1.7 million people on 1,400ha (3,500 acres).

By comparison, Manhattan consists of 21,600 acres with a population of 1.6 million. And Manhattan is the most densely populated area in the United States.

Can you see the outlandish planning involved here? The population of Manhattan squeezed into 1/6 the space on some finite islands?

Does anyone really think they can plan an infrastructure to handle all that? Not if people live there permanently.

True, Manhattan is the business centre of the largest capitalised economy in the world, so it handles a lot of outside commuters in addition to its resident population. And true, Kowloon is even more crowded than Manhattan and still survives - somewhat wretchedly, I might add; it's not "the good life" there.

Nevertheless, Manhattan grew organically. Forest City is another instant city that seems to me an outlandish and stupid project.

Legit: Forest City has an extraordinarily beautiful landscape indeed and so is the Country Garden Danga Bay. We should be proud to have such a beautiful project in Malaysia.

If the properties in the Forest City project can be sold (and be affordable) to Malaysians and other foreign nationals besides the Chinese, then it could be a nice project to have on Malaysian soil.

On the freehold land status, we are told this project is done on a newly man-made island and therefore it doesn't really matter. Even 99-year lease is as good as freehold.

There must be some attraction if you want foreigners to come and invest and live here. Just make sure it is not all Chinese from China. Get the Indians, Japanese, Europeans and Americans too.

Let's face it, the alternative is most of the land in the country becoming Malay reserve land and zero development, if that's what you want.

Spinnot: "Even with a 99-year leasehold, Mahathir claimed, it would be more than enough time for them to apply for Malaysian citizenship."

You think they are as lucky as the illegal Filipino immigrants who were given citizenship during the time of your premiership?

These Filipino illegals did not possess 99-year leasehold land, they lived on squatter lands and they allegedly got MyKad within a few years after arrival.

Anonymous 2441911478511303: Yes, now Chinese no need to "balik China", just go Johor. Thank you, Umno, making Malaysia more Chinese.

Anonymous #05023297: It looks like now there is a privileged class of Chinese in Malaysia and it’s not Chinese Malaysians.

I might as well apply to be a mainland Chinese national and then seek MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) at Forest City.

RM2.6 Billion Turkey Haram: Next they would put a signboard, ‘Selamat Datang di China’, besides those advertisements.

And to top it, all the signage would be written in Chinese. Not bad. Can you feel the changes in the air? No more Chinese bashing. Hooray!

Not an inch of Forest City land given as freehold, MP rebuts Dr M

P Dev Anand Pillai: How on earth is one going to have freehold strata titles on leasehold land? A lease is subject to state authority approval, whereas a freehold land is free from state authority intervention when one wants to sell.

So if you aim to sell it to the foreigners, no foreigner in his right mind will want to buy properties if it is not freehold.

Bamboo: Sekijang MP Anuar Manap's eagerness to bend backward to defend the Johor Umno government exposed his stupidity. Freehold strata titles on non-freehold land? What nonsense.

Ahbengkia: This is the first time I hear this nincompoop statement: strata titles freehold, the land underneath is not.

Res Ipsa: This is precisely what happens when someone with some vested interest in protecting his master just starts firing blanks without giving a thought or two to the subject matter and the undesired consequences that ultimately make that person look like a fool.

Come on Anuar, surely you can't be that silly in trying to create freehold strata titles on a piece of land that does not have freehold status.

Of course, you are not to blame if you have very limited understanding of land law, but sometimes it's just best to zip up, especially when it comes to a person of your statute, a parliamentarian... and always remember the old adage that a little knowledge is sometimes dangerous.

Baiyuensheng: It means when the land leasehold expired and the land taken away - presumably the building will have to demolished, those with freehold strata still can occupy his 'unit' but will have to levitate and live on air.

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