KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has confirmed that Chinese nationals can indeed purchase residential units at Forest City but they would not be issued visas to live there.
“They can buy the property, but we would not give them visas to come and live here,” he said at the 60th-anniversary ceremony of National Art Gallery near here on Tuesday (Sept 4).
Dr Mahathir had last week caused much consternation and confusion when he announced that foreigners will be barred from buying properties at the multi-billion ringgit Forest City project in Johor.
However, the next day, the Prime Minister's Officer clarified that the purchase of properties does not guarantee automatic residency in Malaysia.
It said Malaysia imposes certain “conditions and information” for foreigners purchasing properties, irrespective of their nationality.
The Johor state government also weighed in on the matter, with Mentri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian stating that "Johor does not discriminate or segregate foreign investors or property buyers according to regions or countries of origin.” said.
