LANGKAWI: The Urban Renewal Bill cannot be passed in its current form and must cover areas where there is still available land for development, unlike Kuala Lumpur, says Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.
The Umno vice-president, who is also heading the party's special task force on the Bill, said lawmakers should not rush through the proposed law as it affects the lives of many.
Johari, who is also Plantations and Commodities Minister and acting Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister, said this when met on the sidelines of the 18th Asean Ministerial Meeting on the Environment (AMME-18) here on Thursday (Sept 4).
He said developers involved in redeveloping such areas under the proposed law – whether from the government or private – must not repeat the cases of Kampung Sungai Baru or the Tun Razak Flats.
"Umno is not asking for the Bill to be revoked, but to be studied in the Malaysian context.
"The government must ensure a win-win situation with such a Bill – where the country can be developed but the people are not oppressed just because we did not refine a piece of legislation," he said.
He added that unlike states like Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Kelantan, where there is still empty land and (degazetted) forests available for development, Kuala Lumpur does not.
Johari said that the Bill must be studied carefully as areas marked for redevelopment are mostly populated by those in the lower-M40 and B40 income groups.
