Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar said he would not entertain anyone lobbying to secure homes under the Bangsa Johor Dream House project.

"Don't lobby me for the houses. I will make sure the project will be successful and that only the underprivileged Johoreans qualify to own these comfortable homes.

"This is a gift from me to help Johoreans who are really going through tough times," he was quoted by Utusan Malaysia as saying.

"A selection board will be set up to filter and assess all applications which come with strict conditions," he said during his 59th birthday celebration at Istana Besar Johor Baru yesterday.

To mark his birthday celebration, Sultan Ibrahim had initiated 1,840 units under the project, priced below RM100,000.

The Bangsa Johor Dream House will see two housing projects which will be implemented in Bandar Dato’ Onn and Bandar Baru Majidee with various types of houses priced from RM80,000 to RM150,000 a unit.

He said the project will be implemented by Yayasan Sultan Ibrahim (YSI) with the cooperation of Johor Corporation (JCorp) dan Bank Rakyat.

Thousands of Johoreans gathered to collect forms to register for the housing project after the pre-launch event.

It was learnt that many visitors went to the venue early so as to not miss out on an opportunity to apply for the houses.

However, they were dismayed when told that the registration can only be done via the foundation’s website.

It was reported that JCorp had received more than 265,000 online applications for affordable houses under the project since its launch on Wednesday.