YOURSAY | ‘PM’s stance is bad for investor confidence and the country's credibility.’

Zuraida: Dr M's 'no foreign buyers' remark on Forest City will be studied

Legit: It is not that the Forest City project is catered only to foreigners. The locals do not want to buy, or can afford to buy, the units.

There is nothing wrong with foreigners buying properties in Malaysia, as it leads to economic prosperity directly and indirectly.

Furthermore, when the government changes policies based on its whims and fancies, then you impoverish the nation by discouraging investments, and hence, causing a loss of jobs and business opportunities.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is making a big mistake here and it can potentially lead to the downfall of the Pakatan Harapan government.

The ministers and other leaders in Harapan better speak their minds and not let one man have his way on such important matters as this.

Mahathir and his ministers have to understand that the investors in the Forest City project, whoever they are, have already put in a lot of money into the project – billions of ringgit.

How would you like if someone pulls the rug from under your feet now? It is not the government’s money but private people’s money.

They were given all the approvals, albeit by the previous government. They have done everything according to the law.

You can't do them this injustice now. It is bad for investor confidence and the country's credibility.

If the Harapan government wants to implement new rules, they should do it for new projects in the future, not for those which already have been approved and implemented halfway.

Please use the power the rakyat have given you prudently, and not abuse it indiscriminately.

Wira: Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin, please have the guts and honesty to say no to Mahathir. He is wrong.

The country cannot take unilateral action to change investment conditions previously agreed to by the last administration.

This is not the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), which involves a country-to-country loan. This is an investment made by a private enterprise.

No investor will come here if the government can renege on their promise or conditions as they like.

Anonymous Malaysia2018: Housing projects can be carried out in two ways.

One way is to build low-cost and medium-cost houses, in which the state and federal governments should be deeply involved, such as what Singapore has been doing with Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats, where 80 percent of its citizens live. These are affordable houses.

The second way is to build high-end houses catered towards local and foreign buyers. This means that anybody who has deep pockets can buy them. In this way, all sectors will be cared for.

We must send a clear signal to investors that they are welcome. Are we interested in investors or not?

If yes, then we have to open the market up to foreign buyers. If no, then we will have few investors coming here. Is that the message we want to convey in this globalised market?

We must be careful in what we say, lest people lose confidence in us and may not trust contracts signed by us. In fact, they may not want to deal with us at all.

Any contract signed must be honoured. Before we sign any contract, make sure that we have studied the terms and conditions thoroughly.

Once signed and sealed, it is a done deed. No second thoughts later. Our credibility is at stake.

Fair Play: Zuraida, there is no need to study Mahathir's message. Just study the National Land Code.

Remember what Mahathir said - it is about the rule of law, not the rule of what he said. It looks like Harapan is no different from Umno.

Pakcik Am: Mahathir and his ministers must stop issuing statements without first discussing it in the cabinet.

Although Harapan won because of Mahathir, he must now work together with his cabinet. All cabinet decisions are usually made by consensus.

It is not proper for any person to go it alone in a parliamentary democracy. In the cabinet, the prime minister is said to be the first among equals. He does not work alone.

Not Convinced: Didn’t PKR leader Rafizi Ramli warned about the “bulldozing” Mahathir soon after the May 9 general election.

But in our euphoria, few were willing to hear the truth. He was roundly condemned instead. Hopefully, we are more amenable now.

Mahathir has to be kept in check, no matter how popular he is.

PMO: Foreigners can buy properties, but with conditions

Kim Quek: This smart statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has averted a near disaster for Malaysia. 

I just wonder what prompted Mahathir to drop the xenophobic bomb the day before, which would antagonise China, Chinese investors and tourists, as well as all foreign investors.

Such an abrupt change of rules in mid-course, which has no legal basis in the first place, will not only cripple the largest foreign property investment in the country, but will also signify to all potential foreign investors that they, too, may suffer the same fate. 

Imagine the devastating blow to our economy if Malaysia is shunned by foreign investors and if China, our largest trading partner for the past decade, turns hostile towards us.

It is high time the Harapan leadership sits up and seriously ponders how similar brushes with disaster can be avoided.

Anonymous_3f4b: The PMO’s statement is a form of damage control after the unforgivable gaffe by Mahathir.

China-Malaysia relations are as good as gone with this quarrelsome chap at the helm.

Observer123: Yes, for a prime minister to make such an incorrect and damaging statement is truly embarrassing. 

I would suggest he should refrain from making these off-the-cuff statements on issues he is uncertain about.

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