I Visited Malaysia's FAILED $100 Billion Dollar "Ghost City" 

thank you for watching habibis

Yeah this place has been the centre of controversy worldwide. - The housing prices is way too high for the average Malaysian, so the project was more likely for wealthy Chinese and Singaporean citizens. - The city is built on reclaimed islands despite being located near land. And the land reclamation destroyed the nearby mangrove environments as well for no reason. - Despite being created to rival Singapore's world hub status, it's really far from the already developed Iskandar Malaysia region in the south of Johor (Johor Bahru and the surrounding urban areas). Plus, even though there were plans to connect the Singapore Tuas 2nd Link border road to Forest City, it has yet to be completed, making the city incredibly isolated.

as an introvert who hates crowds, this place seems like an ideal destination to visit on weekends. Clean and well maintained. Who knows, when the local population grows in the future, more ppl will move in.

Bro decided not to fire his cameramen is wild 💀

This place is very good to wait out the zombie outbreaks. Can store a lot of supplies, including in the empty unts near your home. Few people to turn into zombies. Isolated

The entire Johor state got less than 2m population, they build a 1m city with reclaimed land where plenty of land is available.

Yup.. my dad was an architect who worked on some of the buildings and they actually rent out some of the rooms too.. everywhere is empty and full of insects plus my dad wasnt paid AT ALL from all the work he had put in..

Explore it at night, it must be eerie as hell. You could also get a much better idea of occupancy by the amount of lighted up windows.

at least its still maintained. if not maintained and guarded by security, the places will be severely vandalised and damaged.

Honestly, I feel liked I'd absolutely love to come here to retire just because of how empty and peaceful it all seems. Idk, it's just giving a liminal space kinda vibe that I'm all for.

Honestly I think in the future maybe our govt could purchase this entire project and create a third crossing linking it back to SG. This would essentially provide millions of readily made homes to Singapore and the Malaysian and JB govt could benefit from having millions of Singaporeans and expats living in the Johor region, potential win-win situation as long as politics is stable.

11:13 Singapore have BTO build to order , means got enough people buying then can be build . Forest City is BSH means Built see how .

it would’ve been cool if you guys were able to interview some of the employees and residents living there!

Feedback from an ex-staff from certain developer 🤭 The TRUTH is they had employed such tactic - 80 ~ 90% SOLD or few units left or last block left for grab. Last time the staffs were told STICK all the stickers on the units and left a few rolls for grab. After some units SOLD they would peel off some units to be AVAILABLE again. And their reasoning would be those buyers LOAN got DISAPPROVED 🤭 YOU need to choose your best unit and know how to negotiate. Example: I'm interested on this unit, if the customer loan has failed, then give me a ring...

The empty mall. Could be used in movies. Like Mall cop movies. As long as the make the stores and food court area.

The city failed so bad, no one outside of Johor even knew about it. My dad is a professor in city planning and he genuinely forgot this place even existed.

Remembered coming here as a kid, I was so amazed on the grand layout and looking forward to see it in the future. Of course, as a kid after a few months I forgot about the place. Now looking back, it brings back memories and disappointment at the same time as it had given a sight of what future eco-city could look like. Thanks sushi for bringing up this content, without the video I would probably forget about this place completely.

the last time i saw you was 2021 during online schooling.I am now in colllege and glad that yt reccommeneded your video to me.EPIC VIDEO

i actually went there when it was christmas and there was alot of people and I even stayed for 3 days I didn't think it would be a ghost city there were a lot of cars and people there.There was also Christmas decorations everywhere it was very pretty

This tour is dope man. Have been seeing so many YT doing but SGP YT didn't do this content great to see u did and more Pov is being seen. Nice.

I went to this place for my university internship, and throughout my intern, I've learned a lot about the place and the environment. First of all, during the first week of internship, the whole place felt very refreshing (aka free of crowded cars), not used to it when I'm in KL. 2nd, this place is probably my go-to place to stay, not a very long time, like for a holiday, a week like that (IF there are more shop lots and mall, and...well, more people), the company covered my hostel fees, so I don't have to pay for rent. Now I'm getting into the part where I genuinely felt unconformable during the intern, my supervisor sent me to some block to "check on things", whenever I turn a corner, I always have that though of "Is there someone there?", like it felt...creepy, I think a single block probably have only a handful of occupied residents that are actually living in them, most of them are bought by rich China people as a honeymoon, or a cheap retired place to stay when they retire. Speaking of creepy, I live in a Block with the most people in it, I felt kinda relieve because I thought we're going to give somewhere where there are no neighbours. The block in front of our block is completely empty from top to bottom, and one day me and my roommate were hanging out on the balcony, and we saw the balcony light for the opposite block(maybe 1 floor above), starts to flicker, I was completely paranoid that night I can't sleep well. LOL, in the end I saw a person going to that block to fix it, case solve. The Gallery place where guest come in and have fun on the water park, is the most people I've seen (during the weekend), and then the 2nd floor is for people to look at the estate, which have been sold and which haven't, (spoiler, most of them have sold out, weird right....) I want to give a big shoutout to the KK MART, the only place I've been to all the time for food and drink during our lunch break. ALSO, 0:30 the restaurant finally opens.....wow There used to be a mall in the office building, but that has sadly been closed during the c0vid pandemic... at 10:56, I was impressed you found the mall, I've never allowed in the mall in case of something broken or smth, very impress seeing a mall with literally nothing in it Since I do not have a car when I'm doing my intern, I had to rely on my roommate, who is one of the best roommate I could ever have. For the whole during of my staying, he's the one who drove me to nearby town Iskandar Puteri, Gelang Patah or Bukit Indah or eat dinner, (every single evening). If you do not have any sort of transport in and out of the place, in this case Forest City, don't even think about having a grab to reach the area (speaking from experience). There is a bus but is kinda not reliable, you can make do if that's your only option. But coming back using Grab is easier since you're going from the and town onto the island. From Tuas (Malaysia side) to Forest City usually cost RM10-RM12, is not bad given it's going INTO a very quiet area where not many cars go in and out...

It's seems like many houses has been sold, & services are monthly paid, but not many staying there. People bought em maybe for investment, abnb, for temporary stay while in vacation or something prevent em to return to their houses. Coz the management still able to maintain this ghost city

If there’s direct LRT from Forest City towards JB, rentals in Forest City definitely increase.

Thanks for the upload I gonna go there for holidays!!! Seems like a perfect location for quiet relaxing time

As someone who live here for more than 6 months, i really like how quiet it is lol also there is actually a lot of people renting here, the outside parking always full. There is also security guard everywhere, so i do feel safe living here. And then, we got bus to tuas, so for malaysian who want to work in sg, it actually a really good choice to stay here.

Even worse than "50,000 people used to live here. Now, it's a ghost town" 🤔🤔

This place could also be the safe place during an apocalypse. could definitely be a movie location like the movie "Concrete Utopia". All the state in the country is in a state of ruin, only this place in the country is still left standing.

The maintenance is pretty good, not a ghost city at all. I salute the gardener that maintained the Maze & balcony flower. My definition of a ghost city is the New York city in the movie I Am Legend (2007).

Awesome insight to Forrest City! As a realtor in the Philippines, I was aware of the project. And dude you're HILARIOUS!!! 🤣 New subscriber! 🙌

Sneaky making videos that are getting even more epic ✨

I lived here last year - it was equal parts lonely and pleasant, but also boring and inconvenient. The swimming pool was the best part, the rooms were a mixed bag in the condominiums, building access sucks, but the views from the balcony are peaceful, the bathroom locking feature in my condo was a literal self-locking trap, getting around was difficult, amenities were lacking, bathroom shower drain was shoddy, the building lobbies lacks proper ventilation, there was way too many staff than residents (every morning theres a literal troop patrol march in waves). There isn't much going for Forest City. We had maybe three convenience stores far spread out (like the South Asian convenience store you went to at Ataraxia was the closest for me), a Merrybrown, and an expensive Chinese restaurant (Meisan) in the Phoenix Hotel to eat it. The only time it seems active is on Friday and Saturday evenings when theres a small local street food stalls and people on the beach. No swimming on the beach though because of the saltwater crocodile signs, water was murky too because of the mangrove swamps. Staff would take pictures randomly finishing tasks to report to their Chinese employers, like after being picked up by the buggy system and dropping people off, they'd take pictures of the passengers on boarding and after being dropped off. Aside from the swimming pool to myself, seeing two monkeys and one monitor lizard was real interesting. I paid $1,200 USD a month on Airbnb for a two bedroom, one bath unit in Ataraxia and felt totally bipped when I found out it was around $200-300 for the same condo at the real estate office. Good thing you weren't there when the bridge into Forest City collapsed or the roving internet outages in the summer.

Honestly this place got sabo by mahatir, once appointed PM he froze long term stay visa for foreigners especially Chinese, he focused so much on Johor till Singaporean chicken out

that maplestory bgm.. bring back memory. haven't play that for 10+ years

I am working at Tuas area and was wondering from afar if it's really THAT DEAD. Thanks to this, not really as bad as the media had portrayed. Thanks for the insight!

If future MRT connects to forest city the price will definitely jump many times.

i live here, my first impression are the same as you. sure the occupancy rate is quite low, but the maintenance is top notch. the place looks oddly well kept thanks to Bangladeshi foreign workers.

I like your style of video, the editing, colour and music, make it feel like a 1970s investigation report. 😅😅 Not sure if this was deliberate or not, but it’s very original 👍👏🏻💥💥🔥❤️🇬🇧

This looks like a tragically ambitious project. A whole place isolated from the main city areas. The abandoned mall really did give some backrooms vibs considering how new yet empty the place is.

honestly surprised to see this on my recommended, but i like the commentary and video, a new place i learned of to get away to if i feel like it. (oh, and nice maplestory ost)

16:22 this is actually really good for ur back

Bro I like your humour 😂 very relatable one leh !!

alhamdulillah bro been waiting for this guy to upload

what frustrates me more is that the amount of natural resources that was destroyed to build this city in a reclaimed land. Those woodlands, the habitat that was lost, the corals that was destroyed... for WHAT? to build an "artificial" forest? what a ludicrous concept.

The maplestory music got me 😂 great video. I look forward to seeing more!

Thanks for sharing and review bro.

RM60 for 4 hours? This guy got scammed hard. Its only RM10 for 2 hours bro. 😂😂😂

Do more content like this, interesting

U scored an excellent deal on the PMD bruh! That guy mixed up and misjudged the rental of the two PMDs, and your quick response really outsmarted him. 😅

sushiii! i'm not really a fan of ghost content but i'm glad you're doing well!

Sushii korkor single-handedly rising tourism rate with 1 vid let’s gooo

From what heard many of the units are owned. But the owner never moved to live there thats why they are empty

bro, this triggered a memory, when i was 10, my parents and their friend wanted to purchase one as investment property but my parents backed out as covid started. we even went to the hotel to stay for one night (i pulled an all nighter to watch bts fanfiction) and it was kinda depressing cus it just seemed like a lively place with no soul and most of the time i was on my phone, lol. def triggered an odd memory and thanks for that

Ghost city doesn’t mean abandoned. In China there are many similar cities, under utilised and over built for the small population. Those are also considered ghost cities.

Hey Sushi, I daily watch your videos and you will not probably see this but, you should go to the highland towers, there's alot of spirits spooking around there, and people don't really go there and I really recommend it if you really want some see some spooky dooky action. Really hope you get to this message! ❤

even when vlog got no ghost , video still fire🔥🔥🔥🔥

from the video, i find it to be quite fun if i can do the PMD activities around the park or play at the beach. but they need to give SGrean a reason to go there, shopping centre? stayca hotel? massage etc.

Hello Sushi, I always feel intrigued by your amazing videos, hope you are doing fine. 😊 This place looks so amazing.

Tan Kin Lian collab when

I love how you look stoned af at 16:48 and the caption is like "and I'm simply seeing things"

Lmao!!! U put that Henesys FM Market BGM song when u enter the room !!! Haha nostalgic bro. 👊🏻 gotta sub to u on that

As Malaysian it's most likely not worth it since the price on living for a day cost around RM1000 which is pretty high, if there is a vacation stay that cost that much the room need to be spacious and big to be honest. But since they made so much investment o the buildings, malls and playare it was high... But yea RM1000 for one day rent is considered very expensive

bro sushii can you come for a walk or cycle at the rail corridor and dairy farm

Who else in the world able to sell their sea water and get china to develop resident estate in the empty sea? Only johor 😂😂😂 Why sell land if we can sell sea?

Interesting video 👍🏻 They do have grocery shops so can still buy basic food stuff

The fact that we get free videos on RU-vid by Sneaky Sushii is truly a gift. 👍👍👍

Was wondering when your next upload would be! Guess you debunked the ghost of forest city Them donuts were clean though~

No more ghost town after free buses to Singapore and return. Lots of rooms already rented out. People no need to rent beds in Singapore.The housing minister said that 70% sold.

you should get 100 people and play catching or something there! idea ah for next video!

good honest tour review of this so-called ghost city.

Omg when you entered that empty mall, it literally looked like the backrooms😖

I'm a Singaporean and I must say that this forest city concept is pretty good. Unfortunately, it was not well thought through. But if successfully executed, it can be really nice. Location wise, not very ideal but i can understand why they chose that location. I think they tried to imitate Dubai's The Palm but did not research enough.

This kind mean of investment remind me of those Angola's Chinese buildings apts, first it had to be empty because it's relatively new and people doesn't know about it much, but as a time goes on, it become more crowded than it was once previously.

this whole video is lowk giving the "main character realised everyone else on earth disappeared" vibes

Glad you returned to making watchable content

Tq for the info. Excellent video.

Garden City had a great workable idea but didn't count on China/Malaysia government and policy changes. They even had the state Sultan invest into the project.

RM1000 for rent as a Malaysian is pretty expensive and you still have to take into account of the far distance everything is from Forest city , this is definitely not Singapore where public transport is readily and easily accessible , you will also need a car to go around.

Dude... since u already in Malaysia... might as well check out Highland Towers man

He’s hilarious 😂 I genuinely enjoyed watching this. Fascinating with a side of humour ❤😂

I visited Johor in 2019 but unfortunately at that time I didn't knew about this project. Interesting video!

So as usual, Malaysia is soooo clean…but just added with a big poop on the floor. lol..😂

Damn , was waiting for a new vid

i lowkey wanna keep the status quo that its "SO GHOSTLY YOU DONT WANNA COME" so that i have my own local, secluded area that i love to hang out at just to myself, just long enough until its properly run down or not allow ppl in anymore.

Any development with 70% focus on investor purchase is going to flip flop. It happened to Docklands, Melbourne when the majority of the buyer were Chinese investor. They keep the apartment empty instead of renting out to avoid annual and capital gain taxes. In the end, most of the shops ware empty, even Melbourne eye (Ferris wheel) and Costco decide to pack up and go.

U went on a weekend, so this "crowd" is nothing to shout about. I went there last month on a weekday, and the people were 10-15% of what's shown here. Only a kopi shop was opened. Indeed, a ghost town considering the massive development already bult. People aside, i am impressed by the way PRC build infrastructure. Less than 8 years to see all this rising from open sea. It makes me really worried though. Such a huge development on reclaimed land with just about 1-2 years of stabilization?

Alice in Borderland sushi version 🤓🤓☝️☝️

Just visit there end of last year and the waterpark is full! Can't even find under a shade spot for my family😂. It's good for family with kids to play near the beach & kids waterpark. Not totally a ghost town. If you wanna go for the waterpark & beach, try to avoid Malaysia school holidays

70percent of the property built are sold. That’s what matters to the developers

i realise you always use maple story bgm

The ongoing collapse in China's real estate market have left millions of uncompleted housing in both the mainland and overseas for the foreseeable future.

Sushi gor should try out Urban Ex frfr would be a nice balance from the ghost hunting

i think there is still hope. may be too high a price for locals, but you need to market the international community. Big investments nice buildings it doenst havebto be empty forever. Love from Ph🇵🇭

I went there before no one and very dark nice view of tuas from the beach Went back to sg after going there

just imagine this place, if instead of connected to Johor it was connected to Singapore, better if singapore extend MRT to forest city(SG). Immediately different result

I Learned new info about this place. Which specific area did you rent the escooter?😊

It depends on when the content is filmed. Post pandemic in 2022, there probably wouldn't be a soul. And as you've mentioned, word is getting around. A great afternoon with the kids with no jam, tons of parking, relatively clean and empty beach is a very attractive proposition which explains the increasing sign of life particularly during the weekends.

The construction workers are all from China and not all of them went home after completion and now their mainland behaviour are popping out from videos exposing them thinking nobody would think they're illegals by looking chinese like locals. We all Malaysians can tell the difference just by their actions.

fire your camerman

Just like many Chinese construction, it is essentially Chinese Government investments in overseas countries made/sold to be of local interest and benefit. No private business can afford to build, maintain and not have the income (people renting and moving in) to support a project of this magnitude for a few months, let alone a year or years! This is clearly continously funded and maintained by money that is clearly sourced elsewhere and not from the project or how these kinds of projects are normally/should be funded.

So I'm an expat in Singapore, and this video actually got me curious. Now I want to have a staycation there!