yeah, reits has no guarantee, if anyone says it is, it's cow dung.
REITs in malaysia are taxed right? even tho different investment class, i still prefer to go for stocks with capital gains which are not taxed.

do pay attention to the asset quality of the REIT it is a pre determining factor of future investment return location & how well the asset is being managed (maintenence) and what was the acquisition cost of those assets when the fund was launched vs current market value..

Eg if a REIT fund is launched at the bottom of a property bust, the cost basis is low .. less downside comparing if the REIT is launched near the top of the property boom..

The distribution (or dividend if you like) is taxed at 15% (local) & 20%  (foreigner)

All Capital gain in Malaysia is not taxable including reit.

Property boom? only when 1995-1997. Since after that, Malaysia property market is just almost flat throughtout overall.
Yes, properties price did go up but more due to inflation(construction materials) and some residential properties and selector sectors rather than because of strong demand as in early 90s.

The key fundamental of reit, is well-managed, strategic properties, pricing is not overvalued and if can, better don't have conflict of interest between the large shareholder and its tenants.