KOTA KINABALU: Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Edward Yong Oui Fah has reiterated that the Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) had not received the application for a large-scale commercial project that had gone viral on social media.

"No, we have not received any application for a development project of that sort.”

Yong, who is in charge of DBKK, said this in response to the arrival of more than 1,000 China investors to Kota Kinabalu to inspect the commercial project.

The Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS) president Tan Sri T.C. Goh has recently called on the local authorities to be more diligent and proactive in safeguarding Sabah from unscrupulous individuals or syndicates who were preying on unsuspecting foreign investors using dubious development projects.

He said this in response to public concerns over an unapproved large-scale property development involving over 2,000 acres of land in Karambunai.

The development model displayed at the company's showroom showed mock-up buildings that look like the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Burj Al Khalifa in Dubai, Taipei 101, Eiffel Tower in Paris and Tokyo Tower.

Yong said he was aware that the company that Goh had voiced out had been recruiting investors with promises of receiving dividends from the profits of the project.

"I wish to remind investors that DBKK has not received an application for the large-scale commercial development project in Sabah.”

He said investors should verify the authenticity of the project with the local authority to avoid falling victims to unscrupulous individuals.

"The state government will not be held liable if anything happens.”

It was learned that a dinner banquet for 2,000 attendees had been held at a five-star resort in the city on Thursday. Most of the attendees were China nationals. There were also luxury vehicles including a Porche, BMW and Audi on display at the venue.

On that matter, Yong said he was uncertain about the nature of the gathering.

"We have yet to determine what was spread on social media - that the arrival of a large number of foreign tourists to Kota Kinabalu was to visit the large-scale development project - was of tourism nature or otherwise.”