Wan Saiful Defends Opposition S Stance On Urban Renewal Bill

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The Tasek Gelugor MP says PN is against the current iteration as it contains several ‘bad clauses’.
Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan said government MPs had also opposed the bill.PETALING JAYA: A Perikatan Nasional MP has questioned housing and local government minister Nga Kor Ming’s criticism of the opposition’s resistance to the Urban Renewal Bill 2025, which has been shelved until the next Dewan Rakyat sitting in October
Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan told FMT that while PN initiated the drafting of the bill when it led the government in 2021, the coalition was against the current iteration as it contained several “bad clauses”.
Earlier today, Nga said it was “unreasonable” for those who once supported the bill to now oppose it, insisting that urban renewal guidelines had existed since 2012 – and that the initiative should not be politicised.
“If the guidelines had existed since 2012, then why didn’t his party (DAP) push for the bill when he was in the (Pakatan Harapan) government in 2018?” asked Wan Saiful.
“There are too many bad clauses in the current bill, especially concerning the consent threshold, building’s age, and the lack of a guarantee for fair compensation.”
Wan Saiful said government MPs had also opposed the bill.
There was strong resistance to the bill from both the opposition and some in the government bloc, including Barisan Nasional and seven PKR MPs.
Earlier today, BN deputy chairman Mohamad Hasan said the coalition’s 30 MPs wanted the bill delayed and reviewed to allow for engagements to be held with stakeholders.
Last year, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said initial discussions to draft a specific Urban Renewal Act were held in 2013 before the process of drafting the Act was announced in 2015.
In a Bernama report last year, Anwar said then housing and local government minister Zuraida Kamaruddin initiated the drafting of the Urban Renewal Bill in 2021, a process that was later continued by her successor, Reezal Merican Naina Merican, in 2022.
The bill, which seeks to replace outdated regulations governing the redevelopment of dilapidated urban areas has drawn criticism over consent thresholds for redevelopment, causing the government to raise the consent threshold for urban renewal projects to 80% across the board.
Previously, the bill proposed a lower consent threshold for certain types of buildings, namely 75% for those over 30 years old and only 51% for abandoned or unsafe ones.
The change comes after the parliamentary committee on infrastructure raised concerns on the threshold during an Aug 21 engagement. - FMT

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