Dr M: Selling territory to foreigners not FDI

PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has taken a swipe at the Government for allowing the sale of huge tracts of land for properties to be “built for foreigners”.

Believed to be aimed at investments from China, Dr Mahathir vowed that such a move would be reviewed should Pakatan Harapan take over Putrajaya.

Dr Mahathir, who is the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) chairman, said this would only be­­nefit foreigners and have little impact on locals.

The land occupied by these mega-rich foreigners, he said, would be fully developed, dotted with skyscrapers and further created in­­equa­lity between Malaysians and foreigners.

“The sale of huge tracts of land to foreigners to build properties occupied by them will be reviewed by taking into consideration the long-term political impact on the country,” he said during the PPBM’s official launch at Stadium Melawati on Saturday night.

In his hour-long speech, Dr Mahathir did not mention China specifically but had previously raised concerns that companies from China were snapping up pro­perties in Johor.

Malaysia, he said, should not resort to the “easy way” of selling land to outsiders, adding that they must learn from history that such a move would only bring harm to their country in the long run.

“Our heritage is being sold and there will be nothing left for our grandchildren – to the point that they become destitute in their own country.

“Singapore was our territory but not now. If we think a little bit, this is happening again,” he said.

Dr Mahathir also claimed that the sale of land to foreigners taking place in Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Malacca and Penang was being classified as foreign direct investment (FDI).

“Selling parts of our territory to foreigners is not FDI. If selling our ancestral land is FDI, why don’t we sell off our country?

“We may get a lot of money but we will lose our own country,” he said.