KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 27): Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd has came out to defend its development of US$100 billion Forest City in Johor, after Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced today that overseas buyers will no longer be allowed to purchase homes there.

In a statement today, Country Garden Pacificview said like all property development projects in Malaysia, Forest City has complied with all laws and regulations, and has the necessary approvals to sell to foreign buyers.

"Pursuant to Section 433B of the National Land Code, a foreign citizen or a foreign company may acquire land in Malaysia subject to the prior approval of the state authority [having] been obtained.

"We do not issue any permanent residency (PR) to foreign buyers of Forest City," it added.

The property developer said it is currently in touch with the Prime Minister's Office for clarifications as it believes that Dr Mahathir's comments may have been taken out of context in certain media reports.

"Today's comments do not correspond with the content of the meeting between Dr Mahathir and Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd founder and chairman Yeung Kwok Keung.

"[He] had a 40-minute closed-door meeting with Dr Mahathir on Aug 16, prior to his (Dr Mahathir's) visit to Beijing. During the meeting, Dr Mahathir reiterated that he welcomes foreign investments which could create employment opportunities, promote technology transfer and innovations that could benefit Malaysia's economic growth and job creation," said Country Garden Pacificview.