GEORGE TOWN: Delays in tabling the Urban Renewal Act (URA) in Parliament could hamper efforts to redevelop ageing flats such as the Rifle Range Flats in Penang, the state assembly was told.
Lee Boon Heng (PH-Kebun Bunga) said the Rifle Range flats, the first People’s Housing Project (PPR) flats in Penang, were already 57 years old and urgently required redevelopment.
“I wish to record my regret in this august House because the URA Bill, which should have been tabled in Parliament, still could not be done because Opposition MPs deliberately used racial perception and sentiments to oppose the Bill without considering the condition of flats that have become old and require redevelopment,” he said during the state assembly sitting on Monday (May 11).
Lee said the flats consisted of about 3,500 strata units and stressed that a proper legal framework was necessary to ensure urban renewal projects could proceed smoothly.
However, obtaining unanimous agreement from residents was unrealistic for such redevelopment projects, he said.
“A complete solution for the Rifle Range flats is the need for a set of laws that can ensure redevelopment can be carried out.
“It is impossible for us to get 100% consent from residents for redevelopment projects, therefore the threshold for agreement is very important,” he said.
Lee also said he appreciated efforts by the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) in applying through PlanMalaysia to gazette the Rifle Range area, which sits on state land, as a special planning area.
“However, I understand that the Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT) has yet to give approval and allocations for preliminary works such as land surveys, social studies and design works to be carried out.
“I urge KPKT to give approval within the soonest possible time,” he said.
The proposed URA seeks to lower the consent threshold required for the redevelopment of ageing strata properties, a move supporters say is necessary to facilitate the renewal of old flats, while critics fear it could affect minority property owners.
Recently, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and Lee visited the Rifle Range Flats to inspect upgrading works involving rewiring of common areas and installation of emergency lighting systems at Block H, funded through a RM745,260 allocation under the Housing and Local Government Ministry’s Public Housing Maintenance Fund.
Built in 1969, the Rifle Range Flats with nine blocks in Air Itam is Penang’s oldest and most densely populated public housing schemes.
