Don T Bring Palestine Into Urban Development Equation

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YOURSAY | ‘Harping on race and religion will give rise to societal tension.’
‘Displaced like Palestinians’: PAS Youth to rally against Urban Renewal Act
Robbie98: According to the news report, PAS Youth deputy chief Hafez Sabri called the proposed law “modern colonialism” and would see the poor chased out of their land like Palestinians.
Why bring Palestine into the equation when we are discussing urban development and growth in Malaysia?
Malaysia aims and hopes to become a developed nation in the near future. Urban development laws are required to proceed properly.
PAS should contribute towards that goal with constructive criticism and intelligent debate.
Holding rallies to object is hardly proper or intelligent. Remember the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd)?
One of its main aims was to prevent race-based discrimination against people. You object for what? The Palestine issue is after all a race-based discrimination, surely you agree. To remind you, yes, you had a rally and Malaysia did not sign the Icerd. So, rally again?
Amadeus: Who is the voice of the minority? As we all know, the voice of the minority is non-Malays. Malays are the voice of the majority.
They talk as if it is only the Malays who are poor. There are also poor Chinese and Indians who stay in these flats that need to be redeveloped into modern flats.
Poor Malays? Whose fault is it? It is politicians like you that fatten your wallet and do nothing for your race.
Mat M Din: PAS leaders should think outside the race and religious box and suggest some measures that would benefit poor Malay urban dwellers to be incorporated into the Urban Renewal Act.
To continue harping on race and religious grounds will give rise to racial tension and spread animosity between the races. Urban housing slums inevitably have to be developed in tandem with the country’s progress.
One of the feasible measures, once the renovation of the housing slum is completed, the government has to buy back the renovated flats at the newly renovated price for those who cannot afford to pay and resell them to Malays specifically, to keep the racial urban graphic balance.
Another possible measure is to sell the renovated flats to the original dwellers, who are classified under the B40 group, at a 40 percent discount.
BesamanMucho: The rich developers are in cohorts with the ministry to take over the people’s houses and kick them out to the rural areas.
This is just like how a former prime minister used the Land Acquisition Act to “forcefully” acquire land and hand over projects to mega cronies under the pretext of national development.
In Kuala Lumpur, all the public land has been handed over to the mega developers. There is nothing left. For example, they sell a 500 sq ft condominium priced at RM 300,0000 where eight persons live cramped inside.
Sealthedeal: It’s clearly a polarity issue. The minister in charge is a non-Muslim hence the Palestinian point and “certain groups” meaning Muslims.
The only point these Islamists have that makes sense is the lowering of the unanimous consent clause to 80 percent. That is the main bone of contention.
Under the present laws, the tyranny of the minority could and does come into play where the minority hold the rest to ransom, however, it is fair nonetheless.
PAS needs to drop their nonsense ethnic scaremongering and concentrate on the unanimous approval clause or be prepared to live in decaying squalor.
Why do they need to turn everything into an ethnic polarity? Look at their tyranny when it comes to banning alcohol in Muslim-majority areas which is clearly an abuse of minority rights.
They need cool heads to navigate this development issue and they have none.
Existential Turd: Using this kind of emotionally charged language is detrimental to rational discourse. Once you accept this kind of over-the-top characterisation, you will shut down any argument.
There will no longer be any meaningful discussion. If you change the discourse about how best to develop a place to a cultural war, then there will be no more developments.
You may not agree with the particular form of development, but it should be debated on its own merits. Using cultural identities to shut down debates is the lowest of the low.
Furthermore, this creates the corrosive and insidious mindset that divides us from them. If some people play the part of Palestinians in Malaysia, then who are the Jews of Malaysia?
This kind of polarisation is extremely dangerous. When politicians constantly complain about not enough “unity” among Malaysians, this is not helping at all.
GreenViper4010: Shiver me timbers! This is a “first”. I’m finding myself agreeing with PAS. Two reasons:
1) I support people’s right to remain on/retain their property and not be displaced by greedy developers;
2) From my experience of so-called “urban development” in and around KL, Penang, and Ipoh, the quality of development is ugly, slipshod, and poor, adding little quality. Madani seems to have a hole below the water line and is sinking rather quickly.
Undecided: PAS Youth wants to organise a rally against the Urban Renewal Act.
Its deputy chief likens the government proposal to what happened to Palestinians, where they were chased out of their land.
Only the ignorant or troublemakers who use racial instigation to get support will think there is a similarity.
In Israel, if you are an original landowner and if the state wants the land, you have little choice. Here, unless the majority of landowners agree, the buyer cannot force anyone out.
Ringgit: Can someone share the percentage of peninsula land that has been classified as Malay reserve land?
This Urban Renewal Act is required to solve the current property issues in urban areas and is not targeting any race in particular.
After all, PAS has a minimum representation/presence in urban areas and may not be well-informed on these issues. Thus, please do not use the rural concept/mentality on urban building issues! Far from the Palestine case, please stop creating fake accusations.
Please allow urban MPs to manage urban areas as they have been voted in by the urban rakyat for these purposes. - Mkini

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