Mp Questions Gazetting Part Of Forest City With Island Status

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PARLIAMENT | A Pakatan Harapan MP today questioned if it is proper for Pulau Satu, a part of Forest City in Johor, to be granted island status when its existence was not natural and involved reclaimed land.
Hassan Abdul Karim (Harapan-Pasir Gudang) raised this point in the Dewan Rakyat today during debates on the Free Zone (Amendment) Bill 2024.
“Can (Pulau Satu in) Forest City be recognised as an island? It’s just reclaimed land, it’s not the same as Pulau Pangkor, Tioman, Langkawi.
“Even if it’s gazetted, can it be defined as an island?” he asked.
This came after amendment bills were tabled to implement special tax provisions for Pulau Satu that are similar to other duty-free islands.
With the amendment, Pulau Satu will no longer be part of the principal customs area and will be listed as a duty-free island, along with Labuan, Langkawi, Tioman, and Pangkor.
However, Hassan said the move could give Forest City a new image, which he described as currently being a “ghost town”, and help it become a new economic centre.
“When this happens, I see a positive effect for Forest City, which is now always mockingly called a ghost town because not many people buy the luxury houses there,” he said.
When the area becomes a tax-free zone, Forest City can be revived and people will come to buy properties, he added.
The Customs (Amendment) Bill 2024, Excise (Amendment) Bill 2024, Free Zones (Amendment) Bill, Sales Tax (Amendment) Bill 2024, and Service Tax (Amendment) Bill 2024 were tabled in the Dewan Rakyat for first reading yesterday.
Foreign-owned property
Commenting further, Hassan said another good effect for Forest City when the bill is passed is that the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme can be revived.
Hassan Abdul Karim (Harapan-Pasir Gudang)At the same time, he said the government needs to think about the issue of land ownership by foreigners.
“Now the bad thing is the ownership of the property.
“What I understand is that under the authority of the state government, it is given freehold status. As long as there is a sun and moon, real estate in Forest City bought by foreigners has freehold status.
“Yet, some Malaysians who buy real estate have a 90-year leasehold... so this is not fair.
“I ask the National Land Council and federal government to discuss this freehold matter with Johor for the benefit of our country in the future,” he said, adding that the issue involved security and sensitivity. - Mkini

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