No Chinese Belt, Road or Bedrooms for Mahathir’s Malaysia
The prime minister is throwing up hurdles to China’s influence in the country.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has a waning appetite for Chinese influence in the country.
Photograph: Pool/Getty Images AsiaPac
Perplexed, wounded, indignant or still optimistic. The Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings Co. can put any spin it wants on its Forest City project, a $100 billion Malaysian township whose fate suddenly has been thrown into doubt after Mahathir Mohamad’s pointed refusal to let foreigners buy apartments or live in them long-term.
One thing is clear, though: The prime minister is not acting impulsively. The project claims to be a “new global cluster of commerce and culture,” and a “dream paradise for all mankind.” However, in Malaysian political discourse, Forest City is just a gigantic Chinatown of 700,000 residents. Taking on the developer is part of Mahathir’s broader plan to redefine Malaysia’s relationship with Beijing, pulling Kuala Lumpur away from the client-state mindset introduced by his predecessor.