PMX’s statement regarding the Urban Renewal Act (URA), as reported in Malay Mail 19/3/2025, has several significant inaccuracies.

The first is that there are no clauses in the URA mandating that the original residents will be
resettled in the new property developed at that site. Neither are there any specific clauses stating
that the ethnic composition of the new residential properties will be the same as that obtained
before the urban renewal project. These might be PMX’s intentions, and the Madani government
might try to implement them, but there are no built-in safeguards in the URA to ensure that this is
observed by future administrations.

The other problem with PMX’s impassionate defense of the URA is that it mischaracterizes all
objections and criticisms as politically motivated and without substance. The PSM has identified
two glaring weaknesses in the URA. The first is that the check and balance mechanism – the Urban
Renewal Mediation Committee – set up under Section 14 (2) of the draft URA is defective because
it will be set up by the State Government as it wishes. We need a well-defined process to set up this
Mediation Committee (MC) so that it can provide an effective avenue for the residents who are
being evicted from their homes. The possibility that the State Government might have a special
relationship with the Developer cannot be discounted. Thus, this must be an independent MC,
composed perhaps of retired judges, senior lawyers and NGO activists to provide a proper platform
for residents who are not happy with the terms of the alternative housing or compensation offered
to them. This committee must have the power to send the proposed plans to compensate the
residents back to the drawing board if necessary.

The other weakness is that the URA overlooks the fact that a significant number of the residents in
rundown housing units are not the owners of these units. They are poor families which have sought
out residences with low rentals because they cannot afford rental elsewhere. They represent the
poorest families in our cities and towns. The URA talks about compensating the owners of these
properties but is silent about the housing needs of the impoverished families which are renting
units. This omission in the URA must be rectified.

The Madani Government should address these two important issues and alter the Bill appropriately instead of using political spin to silence the discussion. The legislation we pass now must stand the test of time by having built-in safeguards that will enable the affected residents, both owners and tenants, to push back effectively against offers and actions that are inimical to their interests.

Jeyakumar Devaraj
Chairperson
Parti Sosialis Malaysia
24/3/25