The Malaysian Insight

FOREIGNERS are enticed into buying property in Forest City in Johor by the promise of permanent residency through the Malaysia My Second Home Programme (MM2H), said an industry source. 

The source said units in the controversial project were sold with the prospect of the buyer getting on the MM2H, which was touted as the Malaysian equivalent of the US green card, which grants the holder permanent resident status.

Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd, the project developer, declined to respond to The Malaysian Insight’s request for comment.

It is learnt that that the China-backed firm had used the MM2H as a promotional tool in marketing campaigns in China and Hong Kong.

“It’s not only Forest City. Other developers also use this (green card method) as a selling point when they pitch their projects overseas,” the source, who declined to be named, told The Malaysian Insight.

“But the misleading part is that these developers are only waiving the MM2H’s RM10,000 application fee. There’s no guarantee that the buyer will get PR status.”

MM2H is an international residency scheme to allow foreigners to live in the country for up to 10 years on a long-stay visa. 

Approval of applications is granted by Putrajaya and hence, beyond the control of the developer.

Forest City has been criticised by the Pakatan Harapan government, led by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, for being not beneficial to Malaysians.

“There are buyers who only want to invest in property and not move to Malaysia. But since the application is done for them free, they may accept.

“Applicants must furnish a list of required documents. They have to show evidence of their financial assets, regular monthly income, pension and others,” the source said.

It is understood that some 200 to 300 MM2H applications from Forest City’s foreign buyers had been submitted to the government, 90% of which are from Chinese nationals and the remainder from Hong Kong and Indonesia.

On Monday, the Washington Post reported a Country Garden official admitting that property in Forest City might be too expensive for Malaysians.

The issue with the upscale RM400 billion Forest City project started when the China-backed project was criticised by Dr Mahathir since his days in the opposition before Pakatan Harapan won the May 9 general election.

Last month, he reportedly said the purchase of properties by foreigners did not guarantee them automatic residency in Malaysia.

Last week, in an interview with Sinar Harian and Malaysiakini, he said that while allowing foreigners to invest in Forest City would bring development to the country, it would be at the cost of the welfare of Malaysians, who would become marginalised.

Sources said Dr Mahathir’s remark about the visa was vague, as it was unclear if he was talking about permanent residence permits, other types of residence visa or the qualification for the MM2H programme.

“A foreigner does not need to buy a property to apply for the MM2H programme. I think the prime minister’s statement is not directed at everyone,” the source told The Malaysian Insight. 

However, yesterday, the developer issued a statement to say that Forest City has seen a significant increase in Singaporean and Malaysian buyers due to its marketing efforts.

The developer also said it was marketing the project to buyers in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates and Japan.

The statement came following the Washington Post eport, which also quoted the unnamed Country Garden official as saying that Malaysia did not want to see “the Chinese taking over Malaysian land” and that the situation had become “tense” amid the new government’s attempt to rein in foreign ownership in Forest City.

“They hate the way we do business. It is clear that the price of the property is too high for Malaysians and (we have) specifically marketed toward the Chinese,” the official was quoted as saying.

It was reported that two-thirds of Forest City units had been sold to buyers from China.

Country Garden Pacificview (CGPV), the master developer of Forest City, is a joint venture between Chinese developer Country Garden and Esplanade 88 Danga Bay Sdn Bhd, an associated company of Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor. –  September 13, 2018.