O shit... Trouble brewing here
Chamber says Johor Malays poorest due to Iskandar
By Nomy Nozwir
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 — The Malay Chamber of Commerce (DPMM) claimed today Johor Malays are currently the country’s poorest community, a problem it blamed on Iskandar Malaysia.
Its president Datuk Syed Ali Alattas (picture) said Putrajaya’s land privatisation programme and large-scale land sale to foreigners under the project had triggered massive inflation in the state.
This had made it more difficult for the state’s Malay majority, which he described as poor, to cope with the higher cost of living.
“During the 1800s, the Johor Malays were the richest in the country but they are now the poorest. This is caused by foreigners buying up land here (and caused inflation). We can no longer cope with the high cost of living,” he told a press conference here.
“The development of Iskandar is pushing the Malays backwards, making them more marginalised economically,” he said, adding that the economic disparity between the Johor Malays and the non-Malays was one of the key issues raised at its recent congress.
The Iskandar Malaysia project, situated in Nusajaya at the southern tip of Johor, was conceived during the Abdullah administration. It covers 2,217 sq km and is thrice the size of Singapore
Initially seen as competition, a Singapore paper had reported that the Iskandar project had swayed more expatriates into opting to live on this side of the Causeway, drawn by cheaper and bigger homes in Johor, while Malaysians are grappling to find affordable housing.
While Singapore’s expatriates eye the relatively cheaper houses in Malaysia, Malaysians, especially those who have just joined the workforce, complain that they cannot afford to buy houses. The Singapore dollar is worth about 2.5 times more than the Malaysian ringgit.
In the past, conservative Malay leaders had expressed fear that Johor would be swamped by Singaporeans.
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, was also reported to have said that Iskandar would help Singapore expand its sovereignty and “drive” Malays into the “forest”.
But a landmark resolution to the long-standing dispute over Malaysian-owned railway land in Singapore 2010 had led not only to a new era of more cordial relations between the two countries but also several landmark deals including a RM3 billion jointly-developed iconic wellness resort in Iskandar.
Singapore is currently the largest source of investment in Iskandar this year.
According to the Chamber, Malays only own 24,000 from the 500,000 acres land accorded for Iskandar.
Syed Ali said the group is calling on the Najib administration to “revise” its policies on Iskandar by reserving “30 per cent of Nusajaya” for the Malays.
The Chamber also wanted Putrajaya to reserve the land in Iskandar for the Malays instead of “foreigners”.
