JOHOR BARU: The Iskandar Development Region (IDR) is not only a magnet for
foreign investors but also land scam syndicates.
Nusajaya assemblyman Abdul Aziz Sapian said several groups believed to be
members of a syndicate had been visiting several villages to coax them into
handing over their land for development.
“The syndicate members would impersonate officers responsible for developing
the IDR and would normally visit the villagers at night,” he told Bernama
recently.
They would ask the villagers to sell their land at a low price, claiming
that it was earmarked for development by the government and that they would
not be compensated if the government acquired the land later.
He said the syndicate members were focusing on Nusajaya because the land
price at strategic locations had skyrocketed to as high as RM500,000 per
acre.
Their areas of interest include Tanjung Kupang, Kampung Tiram Duku and
Kampung Bukit Tempurong.
He urged villagers in Nusajaya and its vicinity not to fall prey to the
syndicate but to seize the opportunities created by the IDR.
The IDR is a special economic area covering 2,300 sq km, which is twice the
size of Singapore and includes Johor Baru, Pontian and Kota Tinggi
districts.
