Johor's chief minister Osman Sapian said foreigners are welcome to buy residential units in Johor's Forest City project, according to a Reuters report on Tuesday, September 4.

His comments come after Malaysia's Prime Minister declared on August 27 that foreigners were not allowed to buy units in the Forest City project, his reason being the city was built for foreigners rather than Malaysians who could not afford the units.

Forest City is a US$100 billion (~S$137.4 billion) project by Chinese developer Country Garden and is particularly popular with Chinese investors.

Two-thirds of the units in Forest City have been sold to Chinese buyers so far, while Malaysians make up a fifth of the buyers.

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Forest city provides jobs for M'sians

In remarks that seem to contradict Mahathir's statements last week, Osman said Forest City is a 30-year project will create more than 9,000 jobs in the construction sector.

He added that Country Garden Pacificview, the joint venture between the Chinese developer and the Johor state, is providing economic benefits to local agencies.

He also attempted to clear the confusion that plagues the fate of the project, saying:

"The Johor government believes that Malaysia has comprehensive laws that protect the rights of foreign investors and companies, including purchasing property.

The Johor government believes that the federal government is able to be fair in protecting foreign companies that run operations in Malaysia."

Politically-motivated?

Mahathir's declaration last week was well-received by Malaysian netizens, who mostly voiced their support for the move which can be seen as having nationalistic undertones.

Since coming to power, Mahathir has taken a less than friendly position with regards to Chinese investments in Malaysia.

Already, he has announced the cancellation of the Chinese-funded East Coast Rail Link.

Nevertheless, he told Chinese media that the decision is not indicative of an anti-China stance.

Top image via Forest City Country Garden Pacificview