Beneath the Veneer: The Political Economy of Housing in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor

Abstract

This paper attempts to explore the political economy underwriting such development, analysing the housing policies and development goals of both the Malaysian government as well as its Johorean counterpart. It does so by focusing on Iskandar Malaysia, a special economic zone (SEZ) earmarked as a high-impact project since 2006 by Malaysia’s economic planners. Despite some commercial success, this paper argues that Iskandar Malaysia is bogged down by tensions along two dimensions: bumiputra versus non-bumiputra interests; and federal government versus state government priorities. The paper unpacks such tensions by analysing the case of Forest City, one of the most high-profile projects in Iskandar Malaysia in recent years.