Pm Knows Nothing Of Sg Pulai Golf Resort Land Status

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Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he was in the dark over the status of the land used for the Forest City Golf Resort, Johor
"I know nothing," he told the press after flagging off the inaugural Asia GT Festival at the Sepang International Circuit today
The prime minister said this when asked if the land used for the golf course - once part of a forest reserve - was now a sultanate land
Mahathir said he was only keen on talking about the vehicles at the event today
Asked if the matter was a sensitive issue, Mahathir replied: "I don't know."On Feb 14, Malaysiakini had reported that the golf resort was constructed on land that was once part of the reserved Sungai Pulai mangrove forest. Repeated attempts to establish who owned the land and the land status have been unsuccessful
Project owners Country Gardens Pacificview Sdn Bhd also did not respond to request for comments
Following this, Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Xavier Jayakumar told the press that Mahathir was aware of the matter
"I think the prime minister is very concerned in this matter, and he had told us to look into how we could have more say as far as deforestation is concerned," Xavier had said
The Sungai Pulai mangrove forest is a large mangrove forest complex and is one of three wetlands recognised by the Ramsar Convention, a non-binding treaty on wetlands preservation of which Malaysia is a party to
The other two wetlands - Pulau Kukup and Tanjung Piai - are granted national park status
Malaysiakini's report on Sungai Pulai mangrove forest had also established that several portions of the reserved land had been excised and used for industrial purposes over the years.  - Mkini

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