Malaysia’s Forest City in Johor was recently ranked the world’s second most useless megaproject by a popular YouTube channel. The rank sparked debate among netizens with some agreeing with the rank whilst others believe that it is untrue.
Recently, Crown Prince of Johor HRH Major General Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim (TMJ) took to his Facebook to post a statement addressing the video.
In his statement, TMJ said, “I would like to refute allegations viral on social media that the Forest City Project is a failed project.”
“This is not true and is mere slander spread by certain parties.”
“Forest City is a project that is being developed sustainably and continuously. This project has already contributed RM630 million to the Johor State Government in form of taxes, dividends and such. This project has also created job opportunities for 1,200 local residents and awarded contracts worth RM1.4billion to 150 domestic contractors,” he added.
TMJ explained that this has opened doors to develop the construction industry in Johor on the long term.
“At the end of last month, Forest City also received the Global Model of Low-Carbon City Planning and Design Award from the Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Award (SCAHSA). This indicates that the project has not failed, instead it has attracted attention on the international stage with its technical advancement.”
“Challenges were also faced due to the Covid-19 pandemic that not only affected Johor, but the rest of the world too. The unencouraging economic situation also resulted in a lower rate of sales. It must also be noted that inconsistent Federal Government policies has affected the faith of investors towards our country,” he said.
He concluded with the hope that with more stable policies in the future and when the economic situation improves, more investors will come and invest here.
Meanwhile, Forest City took to their Facebook to reshare TMJ’s statement. Along with it, they wrote, “A sensational quixotically report made by an irresponsible party with malicious intention towards Forest City was merely baseless.”
They had also issued a statement of clarification on 18 November refuting the claims of said video.
“The recently released so called global city ranking on Forest City project is not recognised by any international authoritative organisation. The content merely created to get an eyeball on it. The video listed out outrageous, biased points which either irrelevant or misleading claims.”
“The company also observed that the same author has a different attitude towards the same project in a short period gap. Despite constructive comments from foreign investment, economy, business sustainability perspective, the author decided to point out racist, biased and personal point of view,” they added.
“Anyhow, the company understands that it is an individual perspective and right to express one opinion freely, therefore the company will not issue any further comments on it,” the statement concluded.
What do you think of this? Let us know in the comments.
Also read: Malaysia’s Forest City Ranked World’s 2nd Most Useless Megaproject by Popular YouTube Channel
