17 - Johor’s Forest City Faces Critical Challenges

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Forest City, the multimillion dollar mixed development project rising out of four artificial islands in the Tebrau Straits off the southwestern coast of Johor appears by most accounts to be a bundle of contradictions. While potentially injecting millions of ringgit into, and spurring great infrastructural development in, the surrounding areas, it has jarred the local property market. New foreign exchange regulations in China add further questions to its financial viability.

While Forest City is portrayed as a role model for future cities, especially in its application of green technology and environmental sustainability, the land reclamation that underpins its existence is doing serious damage to local seagrass, mangroves and fishery habitats. Claims that the project has the potential to create thousands of jobs for the local population have been countered by those who question the wisdom of allowing such a huge influx of foreigners, both as contract workers and as residents, as well as its implications for the racial status quo.

To the general public, the saga of Forest City began in early 2014 when sand barges seemed to appear overnight to begin round-the-clock reclamation work without public notice or signage on the project. Those caught unaware included the Singapore government. It eventually lodged an official complaint with the Federal government, and Malaysia's Department of the Environment issued a stop-work order. The Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) process revealed that some local regulations had been sidestepped. While most local leaders had already known about the project in 2013, the information and RM3 million in compensation from the developer had not yet been passed on to the affected villages.

Controversy continues to surround the project till this day and the development swings between being the victim of political positioning for the upcoming elections and the bogeyman of choice for the media and local community; obliterating all mention of other developers and developments in the area which could have as much environmental, economic and social impact as Forest City.

In contrast to the typical tale in developed nations of project instigation, endorsement and financial support, Forest City was envisioned by a Malaysian person of prominence and modelled on the success of Shenzhen and its evolution from Hong Kong backwater to thriving metropolis. That a Chinese developer became the main actor in the project is a nod to China's re-emergence as a global player and to its strategic interests in Southeast Asia.