Johor opposition chief urges PM and MB get their stories straight

Johor opposition leader Hasni Mohammad has urged Putrajaya and the Johor government to stop issuing conflicting statements on the Forest City project because it is causing confusion.

In a statement today, Hasni said there appeared to be a rift between Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Johor Menteri Besar Osman Sapian, with the latter bearing most of the brunt.

He said that while Osman had clarified that the project will not grant foreign buyers automatic citizenship, the prime minister is implying otherwise and this has caused embarrassment for the menteri besar.

"The latest incident saw Mahathir criticising the menteri besar for defending Forest City and foreign buyers, while asking if the menteri besar wanted to see Malaysians living in wooden houses.

"The rift between the state and federal government must be resolved by the menteri besar immediately. (The menteri besar's) actions are also rash and not based on fact ... This will not resolve the problem," said Hasni.

In view of this, Hasni urged Osman to state clearly what was the state government's position on the Forest City project and how his administration will ensure that the people of Johor would benefit from it.

He said Osman must also state how Malays and bumiputera will not be left out from owning a piece of Forest City as well as the projected revenue for the state government.

"If these questions are answered clearly by the menteri besar, it will help to provide clarity on this issue," said Hasni, who is the lawmaker for Benut.

Following Mahathir's sudden announcement on Aug 27 that the Forest City was off-limitsto foreign buyers, Osman clarified that this was not true.

On Tuesday, Osman also answered some questions raised by Hasni. For instance, Osman said Forest City had generated RM630 million in taxes and dividend payments, of which RM309 million went to the federal government.

Osman also claimed that Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd (CGPV) had invested RM11.5 billion in the project and hired 1,545 workers, of which 80 percent were locals. - Mkini