He said Mahathir made the statement to provoke and scare Johoreans in a bid to see them fail at achieving their aspirations for the state.

Khaled said the Forest City project was spread over about 30 years and among the investment attractions to Johor were the low cost of doing business and living compared to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

“After 30 years, maybe there will be 700,000 foreigners in Johor but it is unlikely all of them will be Chinese nationals,” he told reporters after closing the 2016 Goodwill Games of Air Biru Rukun Tetangga here yesterday.

Mahathir had earlier claimed that Chinese citizens would be given identity cards to enable them to vote in the coming general election.

Khaled however said he was confident Johoreans could think logically and not be easily swayed by illogical propaganda.

According to him, Mahathir did not understand the Johor way and did not want to see Johor progress.

“We in Johor do not want to be the backyard of Singapore. We want to develop on our own efforts, our capabilities, strength and on the position of Johor itself,” stressed the menteri besar.

Khaled said Forest City encompassed the development of facilities for business, tourism, a hotel, residences, services and others.

The 1,386-hectare Forest City will be built on four man-made islands in Iskandar Malaysia.

“Marketing for residential properties in Forest City is not concentrated in China alone, but also in Australia, the Middle East and other countries and it is only offering 10,000 units,” he said.

He also explained that the purchase of properties by Chinese nationals was approved based on investment policies apart from being a getaway during winter.

“When Pak Lah (Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) was prime minister, Pak Lah created development according to the regions…it was without doubt an idea of Pak Lah and it cannot be denied there was no such idea during the time of Mahathir,” said Khaled.