KUALA LUMPUR: A group of government MPs has urged the government to revise the proposed Urban Renewal bill 2025, warning that its consent threshold for redevelopment projects could accelerate gentrification and displace underprivileged tenants from city centres.
Subang MP Wong Chen said the proposed consent levels under Section 19(1)(b) were set too low compared with international practice.
The bill stipulates that projects initiated by the Federal or State Executive Committee would require 80% consent for buildings aged 30 years or less, and 75% for buildings over 30 years.
Wong said in Hong Kong, buildings under 50 years require a 90% consent threshold under the Land (Compulsory Sale for Redevelopment) Ordinance, while Singapore sets an 80% threshold for buildings 10 years and older.
"With Malaysia having significantly more available land than Hong Kong and Singapore, we should not be rushing to lower this threshold.
"We strongly believe the appropriate consent threshold should be set higher at 85% for buildings older than 30 years, and 90% for those below 30 years, in order to safeguard the rights of homeowners and particularly tenants in social housing," he said during a press conference in Parliament on Thursday (Aug 21).
Wong said this in a joint statement together with Ampang MP Rodziah Ismail, Wangsa Maju MP Zahir Hassan, Ledang MP Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, Gopeng MP Tan Kar Hing, Balik Pulau MP Datuk Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik and Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung.
While acknowledging the need to redevelop abandoned or unsafe buildings - where a 51% consent threshold is acceptable - Wong expressed concern that the bill, as it stands, would mainly benefit middle- and upper-class owners of low-cost housing units, while displacing tenants.
He said a survey in Subang found that nearly 73% of occupants in low-cost flats were tenants rather than owners.
"This illustrates two fundamental issues. Firstly, social housing is primarily not owned by the underprivileged and thus their interests are not protected or improved by this Urban Renewal bill.
"Secondly, the gentrification exercise under this bill will likely displace urban underprivileged tenants from the city centres," he warned.
He called on the government to engage further with the Parliamentary Special Select Committees on Infrastructure, Transportation and Communications, and on Women, Children and Community Development, as well as to commission a full social impact study before tabling the bill again.
Wong also demanded a one-to-one replacement of redeveloped low-cost units, which should be made available to genuinely underprivileged households.
He further urged the government not to proceed with the second reading, but to revisit the bill in the October sitting after addressing concerns over consent thresholds and social housing displacement.
"If the government proceeds with this Urban Renewal bill as it stands, it risks alienating urban voters, particularly in constituencies where social housing is concentrated.
"This would be a grave political mistake. We support, in principle, the Urban Renewal bill provided that the threshold is fairer and social housing problems are addressed as per our recommendations," he said.
