URA – A Plea To The Prime Minister…

Perception play is crucial for childhood development and learning. For adults, perception is interpreting sensory information through various senses, prior experiences, beliefs and social norms, thus shaping behavior, character and interactions.

The Urban Renewal Act (URA) has raised perceptions that include displacing vulnerable residents under the guise of gentrification, causing Malays to lose their place in the city and that the law prioritises developers.

Few days ago, you said it will protect the rights of property owners by ensuring fair and significantly higher compensation than is currently provided and several benefits. You added that the law aims to protect the rights and dignity of the people, particularly Malays in cities, ensuring that the urban poor can live with greater dignity, rather than being left to live in overcrowded conditions without resolution.

In short, any redevelopment emphasises the principles of social justice that are the basis of the Madani concept and it is a solution to the struggle between the people and the developers that has been going on for a long time.

The main question is, why is the government pushing very hard for the URA with insufficient thought to those affected and mostly poor? There are many other serious outstanding issues. You vowed to mobilise an even larger rally to defend the URA if the opposition follows through on its threats to protest against the bill. I think the government have proper channels to solve issues.

Meantime, we have sufficient laws that could regulate almost all aspects of urban redevelopment with some modifications.

Mr prime minister, KL Sentral was initially aimed to revive Brickfields in order to strategise urban planning there. But many local communities and properties were relocated to give way for commercial development and it lost its community atmosphere. The noble aim is to help inner-cities economy without depriving the existing communities but market forces led to profit maximisation for some.

Urban redevelopment should not just aim to stimulate economic regeneration but also balance with social identity, conservation and enhancing community services. Giving back life to the area and bringing back social, physical and economics activities. Has the ministry devised plans for the areas to be redeveloped along these lines? And who bears the cost of upgrading infrastructures?

Mr. prime minister, we don’t want you to leave out the Seri Perlis flats (one-bedroom units) but rebuild it through more innovative ideas.

The minister has given an assurance that the Act will address the social impact of redevelopment with safeguards but we need to see it now.

We have seen weaknesses in terms of policy, financial and knowledge, which have resulted in disconnectivity between sustainability components (environmental, economic and social elements) pursued in an uncoordinated fashion.

Insensitive redevelopment schemes and uncontrolled development pressures will attract insensitive speculative development and inflate the land and property values becoming unaffordable.

It is a cancer that could quickly spread.

The ministry has more pressing issues to give priority such as affordable housing supply-demand mismatch, rising construction materials and land costs, location, accessibility and financing for low-income groups for affordable housing projects. Low-quality construction materials and a lack of skilled workers. Government processes need a relook such as delays in approvals, changes in rules, and lack of transparency.

What about river and air pollution from commercial activities, solid waste management, illegal factories, transportation, abandoned and uncompleted projects creating a backlog in the supply of affordable homes and completed projects without strata title after a long time?

Our urban design and planning are poor leading to overcrowding, traffic congestion and inadequate infrastructure (good quality and well-maintained). Open spaces are now very limited.

Our community awareness and involvement need to be strengthened to create a sense of ownership and responsibility. The draft of the URA for feedback is evident that feedback from various public engagement for the last one year was not given due attention.

For the sake of transparency, I would strongly urge the ministry to upload public feedback in its website on this matter.

We need a balance to help the urban poor wellbeing, financial ability and social integration apart from improving liveability and sustainable environment.

What happened to the National Community Policy formulated by the ministry to improve the lives of the B40 living in the public housing? It was supposed to tackle the issues of the generation gap and disparity of social-economics among the urban poor in major cities?

The 139 plots in KL could generate an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM332.5 billion thus creating jobs and lots of profit for developers. There will be more in years to come. But will it close the gap of disparity of social-economics among the urban poor in major cities?

The imbalance between economic activities and social responsibility has placed Kuala Lumpur as merely a place for work, but not to live.

Why should we follow Singapore and Hong Kong which are islands? Why worry about slums in Pandan, Cheras and Sentul and what has the ministry been doing?

Are we pushing this URA for the interest of certain groups camouflaged as a planned effort to revitalise and improve deteriorating townships when there are other more pressing needs like affordable housing?

Mr prime minister, I don’t think the urban poor look for higher compensation or significantly worry about whether the URA protect their rights and dignity. They need affordable housing which the URA is silent on. And how about the dignity of the other 25% and 20%?

Why is the ministry pushing so hard to solve the struggle between the people and the developers when there are more important and urgent issues as stated above which seem to a be ‘Mission Impossible’ for so long?

Last but not least, I humbly suggest for you to push the ministry to draft a law to curb uncontrolled developments that will push property prices beyond the reach of ordinary Malaysians.

What say you…