PETALING JAYA: Concerns highlighted in a memorandum of proposals on the Urban Renewal Bill have been raised in a meeting between the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) on Infrastructure, Transportation and Communications and the Housing and Local Government Ministry, says MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
The Ayer Hitam MP, who is a member of the PSSC, said the matters raised require serious attention from the government.
According to Dr Wee, the memorandum of proposals is jointly endorsed by 16 professional bodies, residents associations, non-governmental and civil society organisations.
“The group had also met with the MCA leadership and myself to present several key points concerning the Bill, in detail.
“Hopefully, the government, particularly the Ministry, will take this matter seriously for the benefit of the people as a whole,” he said in a Facebook post Friday (Oct 3).
The meeting between the PSSC and the ministry was chaired by Tanjong Manis MP Yusuf Abd Wahab.
On Aug 21, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming tabled the Bill in Parliament for its first reading.
The Bill aims to facilitate the redevelopment of old, dilapidated and run-down housing areas.
However, there has been mounting public backlash that the proposed new law will give project developers excessive powers to force home sales and evict those who refuse to move out once a set consent threshold is reached, thus eroding individuals’ property rights.
Several protests also took place in front of Parliament to oppose the Bill.
Debates on the Bill, which was originally planned for Aug 28, was postponed to Oct 6.
