KUALA LUMPUR: The proposed Urban Renewal Bill will complement existing laws in tackling abandoned and dilapidated strata buildings that threaten public health and safety, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming said.
He said the bill was intended to support more comprehensive urban renewal and rehabilitation efforts, while safeguarding the rights and interests of property owners through consultation and participation.
"The government cannot remain silent and allow ageing, dilapidated buildings to continue endangering the people and hampering national development," Nga said in a written parliamentary reply on Tuesday (Oct 20).
He was responding to Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun, who asked about existing legal mechanisms for the compulsory acquisition of abandoned strata buildings and whether the government planned new provisions to revive ageing buildings such as Hicks Mansion in Bukit Bintang.
Nga said the Land Acquisition Act 1960, administered by the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry, provides procedures for the acquisition of subdivided land or buildings following amendments that came into force in 2017.
The Strata Titles Act 1985, which was amended in 2016, also provides a mechanism that can be used in cases involving dilapidated or abandoned strata schemes, he added.
However, Nga said the mechanism was focused on acquisitions involving strata schemes.
"The proposed Urban Renewal Bill is therefore intended as a complementary mechanism to support urban renewal and rehabilitation efforts more comprehensively," he said.
Under the proposed framework, he said negotiations would ensure owners receive rights and interests that are "no less favourable," including ownership of a suitable new property based on the existing property's value.
Nga said this would be based on future valuations, with developers bearing the cost according to projected profits regulated and agreed upon by the government.
For buildings such as Hicks Mansion, he said the appropriate mechanism would depend on factors including the title status and the building's condition.
He said the government's effort was not merely about restoring old buildings but also about creating safer, more liveable and sustainable cities.
