KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stressed that urban renewal is not a new agenda under the MADANI Government, as it has been initiated since 2012 with the formulation of the Urban Renewal Guidelines.
He said initial discussions were held to draft a specific urban renewal act to launch the development process around Kuala Lumpur in 2013 before the process of drafting the act was announced in 2015.
Anwar said that former Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa in 2020 had spearheaded the Urban Renewal Programme under Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) involving flats that were over 40 years old.
“In 2021, the Minister of Housing (and Local Government) Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin initiated the drafting of URB (Urban Renewal Bill), on March 22, 2022 the Housing Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican continued and focused on the same principles.
“Yang Berhormat Arau (Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim who was then the Minister of Federal Territories) in September 2022 even determined that DBKL had identified 30 areas for renewal.
“Since 2012, 74 engagement sessions have been held and we have taken into account the problems faced by the people,” he said during the Minister’s Question Time session at the Dewan Rakyat today.
Anwar was responding to a question from Tan Kar Hing (PH-Gopeng) regarding the government’s commitment to the proposed Urban Renewal Bill (URB) which will ensure that no owner, regardless of race, will be forcibly evicted from their land or premises as clearly stated in Article 13 of the Federal Constitution.
The Prime Minister said the drafting of URB would not disregard Article 13 of the Federal Constitution as well as existing legal principles.
At the same time, he assured that the Bill would not transfer the original owner of the property, in addition to the ethnic composition and status of the land, whether Malay reserve, government-owned or permanent.
“Regarding ethnic ownership…for example, the Sri Perlis Flat, if it is currently 70 per cent Malay (ownership), it will remain because in this law there is no right for us to transfer the original owner,“ he said.
Therefore, Anwar said that there was no issue at all on the original owner of the property, regardless of race, being forcibly evicted from their land or premises.
Regarding the requirement for a threshold of between 51 and 80 per cent of property owners to agree to the proposed bill, Anwar said this was necessary to facilitate the renewal process.
“The threshold is necessary…for example, there is a project where one person does not agree, this matter is delayed.So is there a process (for issues like this)? It can be taken to court. How many years? Five years, then the value given by the court is the current value, not as we raised, he will get more than he has now. So we have a choice.
“If we really want to defend the people, use this (URB) so that we can improve. A house that is currently RM70,000 can be RM200,000 (but) if we do the valuation, it will remain RM70,000,” he said.
Meanwhile, Anwar said the MADANI Government is committed to urban renewal efforts despite the controversy and slander associated with the Malay reserve land issue.
Interestingly, he said that no administration including Perikatan Nasional (PN) has ever declared 20.2 hectares of land as Malay reserve land.
Through 2025 Budget, the MADANI Government agreed that 20 hectares of the Bandar Malaysia strategic project development be allocated as Malay Reserve Land.
“This is because I feel that it is wise, including previous governments, to propose (reform) only as we know, as soon as something is considered controversial, everything is postponed.
“We made the decision despite the controversy, actions, slander and those who are worried about Malay land and so on, I want to mention that this government is the first time in history since independence in 1957 that has declared 50 acres of Bandar Seri Malaysia as a Malay reserve, there was no such thing before that.
“On the record, no previous government, including PN, has dared to declare any area in Kuala Lumpur as a Malay reserve,” said Anwar.
