JB Ghost Town or Why Mr. Sultan Down South Should Stay Out of Business.

Woman Details Her Experience At Forest City ‘Ghost Town’ In Johor Bahru BY HYPE DESK JUNE 5, 2022 Have you ever been to the ‘Bandar Hantu’ (Ghost Town) in Forest City, Johor Bahru? A young woman from Manila (currently based in Singapore) recently visited the abandoned town and had a lot to say about it.

Marielle Descalsota stayed at the megaproject Forest City for three days. She stated that the Forest City was considered a “Ghost Town” due to the current population of less than 5% with the latest report from 2019 claiming that there were only 500 inhabitants.

“When I visited the city, it had a sales gallery, a shopping mall, an international school, and two resorts, although there were less businesses operating. A plot of land had been reserved for its development, however, it is unsure whether the project will be continued,”

Marielle stayed at the Forest City Golf Resort and described the environment to be quiet, with only a security guard to be seen about. She noted that the resort was closed for two years and would be reopening in the coming few months.

The reporter admitted that her first impression of the resort was that it was luxurious. She stayed in the deluxe suite which costs RM458 ($104) per night and claimed that her experience was unpleasant. According to her article on Insider, she wrote that it was difficult to keep in touch with the outside world due to the bad Wi-Fi connection.

She expressed her disappointment regarding the ride-hailing services as well when five local cab companies refused to give her a lift as there were no available drivers to go to the resort. She also wrote of her experience with a rat running around the dining area, rust build-up in the Jacuzzi, and blackouts that lasted five hours. Reasons behind Forest City’s failure “Malaysian citizens can’t afford the apartment as the price of the property was allocated based only on China’s market. The influx of Chinese investors has caused an uproar as the public opposed the project, calling it a new form of colonization. After the leadership exchange, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad banned foreigners from owning properties in Forest City,” the reporter wrote.

The Covid-19 pandemic had put a stop to construction when investors had pulled out from the project. In the beginning of 2020, it was made clear that less than 500 people moved to Forest City despite its capacity to hold almost 700,000 citizens.

Neetashini Kanendran contributed to this article Sources: Travel, Insider

steadyaku47 comment : Mr. Sultan Down South is involved in this project. Whether they wanted to or not, the developers of the project, from China, took Mr. Sultan in as a business partner. Most probably free shares kut?

Today Forest City is a Ghost City. To his great regret, Mr. Sultan Down South has not been able to make the huge profits that he thought he would make when the project was first mooted.

The lap dog of Mr. Sultan, the Mentri Besar, has been directed to allocate a portion of the State budget to make the Forest City project look good. This means that the Johor state does not have the funds to take care of the other needs of the state ......rubbish collection, road resurfacing, traffic markings, public parking lots, clogged drains, children playground. No money left .

Lessons for Mr. Sultan? Don't be too greedy lah. Stay out of business. Accept that you are never going to be as rich as the Pendek son of yours and go and make yourself useful for Bangsa Johor. Go open a Mosque or a School somewhere in Batu Pahat or Muar...or anywhere in Johor that needs a Mosque or a school.