Urban Renewal Act The Good And The Not So Good

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I do not disagree with the Urban Renewal Act. Unless you are now living on a tree the house or apartment that you live in are all the result of urban development, urban renewal, the progress of the human race etc. We came down from the trees some time ago.
Melaka town (bandaraya Melaka) is about 500 years old. In Melaka we once lived on Heeren Street (Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock) in a house built by the Dutch more than 300 years ago.  So development and renewals have been going on for centuries. 
In our modern era - after Merdeka - our towns and cities are now entering second, third generation redevelopment and reconstruction. The earlier urban areas developed pre-war (before 1945), those areas built in the 1950s, then 60s, 70s, 80s etc are approaching urban decay or are past substantial degradation. We have to rebuild. There is no doubt about this. The Urban Renewal Act will streamline things.
Those of you who are worried that rapacious developers will abuse the act and bulldoze everything into the ground, do you seriously think they need this Urban Renewal Act to bulldoze everything into the ground?  The more crooked fellows  can still bulldoze everything even without the Act. Ask the people in Taman Tun, those Indian people in Penang, that Jalan Duta case and even in Seputeh (ask YB Theresa Kok). When crooked people are involved they dont care about any act.
This Urban Renewal Act is a DAP baby. The DAP has always been the party of the contractors and the developers. There is nothing wrong with that. I hear names like Nga Kor Ming being the main drivers behind tabling this Act in Parliament.  I believe YB Nga is the Minister in charge of Local Government. He should know plenty about urban renewal.
Right in front of my house IOI Properties is developing 430 units of 3-storey townhouses and then also shoplots etc. It is greenfield, not urban renewal. But much needed development. We have 34 million people.  Although personally my wife and I are not too keen on having 3,000 new neighbours. (The boss of IOI is married to the DAP's Miss 'no-plastic-bags').
The not so good is that the Malay people are going to be left out. The Urban Renewal Act will make it easier to redevelop older urban areas. This will lead to 'gentrification'. Simply put the value of properties will go up, prices will move up. Houses will become less affordable. That is gentrification.
For example IOI is launching those townhouses between RM500,000 (lower unit) to over RM600,000  (upper unit). How many people can afford those townhouses? And we live 40 minutes from Bangsar (the center of the universe where my sons were born and raised).
So the Malay people are going to get pushed out. The B40 (majority Malay) and even the M40 will not be able to afford RM500,000 townhouses. The monthly instalment can easily run up to RM3,000 or more.
Who do we blame? I blame the DEB. Dasar Ekonomi Bebal - which is still being perpetuated.  
There are super easy solutions. But they are highly unpalatable to the money making politicians.  This is the real problem.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
By Syed Akbar Ali 

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