A LEADER of fundamentalist Islamic party PAS said Malaysia's 'black history' may be repeated if the government does not prevent Singapore from gaining control of the Iskandar Development Region (IDR).

Mr Salahuddin Ayub, youth chief of Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), was referring to the 'handover' of Singapore by former premier Tunku Abdul Rahman to Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

"The Abdullah government may similarly hand over the IDR to Singapore, when Singapore's political power in the IDR becomes so strong that the easiest way out would be for the Malaysian government to release the region to Singapore," he was quoted as saying in the Oct 16 issue of PAS' party newspaper, Harakah.

Mr Salahuddin was echoing the fear among some Umno and Malay leaders, including former premier Mahathir Mohamad, that attracting Singaporean investments to the IDR could lead to the Malays losing control of southern Johor.

"If this happens, it would be a black spot in our history when yet another Malaysian territory falls into the hands of a foreign power," Mr Salahuddin said at a political talk in a village in the Johor town of Pontian.

He said the zealous pursuit of development by Malaysian leaders without regard for adverse consequences would result in losing yet another Malaysian territory.

"If this happens, it would be because the leaders running this country are weak," he said.

Mr Salahuddin, who is also a Kelantan Member of Parliament, urged Malaysians to think through the issue deeply.

"The people must act before it's too late," he said.