Debate must focus on law’s implications

For the common good: File picture of the Sri Pahang flats that gave way to redevelopment initiatives at Bukit Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. Debate over the Urban Renewal Bill must focus on its implications for people.

IT is a pity that the debate over the Urban Renewal Act, a proposed legislation to allow the redevelopment of dilapidated urban areas, has taken on racial overtones.

The Act seeks to give a federal executive committee and state- level executive committees the power to redevelop and revitalise buildings or land parcels, or carry out regeneration projects on abandoned buildings, without having to get the unanimous approval of owners.