Malaysia's history with Chinese immigrants lends credence to Dr Mahathir Mohamad's concerns over Forest City's push to draw foreign buyers, said former information minister Zainuddin Maidin.

In a post on his blog today, Zainuddin said Chinese immigrants had in the past bought a few shops in British Malaya before eventually forming numerous Chinese enclaves.

This led to the enactment of laws, by British administrators, on Malay reserve land to prevent Malays from selling all their land to foreigners.

After independence, the Razak-administration then came up with policies which drew Malays to large towns and cities in order for them to compete with the Chinese, said Zainuddin.