Malaysians should fear money politics and corruption in their midst more than foreign investors, said former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Razaleigh, who is the Barisan Nasional MP for Gua Musang, was speaking at a public lecture organised by the Federal Body for Malay Education and Development (PBPPM) in Universiti Malaya today.

"We don't need to be afraid of foreign investors as long as they are not allowed to take over our land like how Israel took over the West Bank in Palestine using military means.

"What we should be careful of are money politics and corruption that comes from our own race," he told the 400-strong audience.

Initially, Razaleigh spoke on the role of the government and said it was not its role to conduct business and trade.

"The government should promote economic growth by bringing in foreign investors but the government is in fact chosen by the people to safeguard the country's sovereignty and reputation.

"This means the government is responsible to ensure our land or our economic regions do not fall into the hands of foreign powers until we become economic and political prisoners," he said.

'We may lose South Johor'

He warned that the people who chose the government might feel that they are squatting on their own land at the mercy of foreigners.

Without direct references, Razaleigh was alluding to the Iskandar Development Region in South Johor where Free Access Zones will have a relatively large international component.

This was affirmed when former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who made a surprise appearance at the event, said the country might risk losing South Johor to foreigners.

"If we give more land to Singapore, one day we would lose south Johor like how we lost Singapore," he said.

Meanwhile, Razaleigh who was delivering the first of a series of speeches organised by PBPPM spoke about the thoughts and visions of the nation's second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak on nation building.

His speech which lasted for over an hour touched on several issues including education, development and national culture.