The deputy prime minister is to be congratulated for his recent timely statement that the government intends to introduce mandatory legislation for Social Impact Assessment (SIA) reports for development projects to ensure that the interests of the public would not be adversely affected.

Groups that face eviction in the name of development such as the Orang Asli, estate workers, and squatters stand to benefit from such legislation. There will also be added provisions regarding minimum standards of quality for low-cost housing, quality of air and hopefully water as well.

I might add that one important area requiring such immediate legislation is the control of the indiscriminate, haphazard building projects that have been mushrooming, particularly in the high-density areas of our main towns and cities. One such area in Kuala Lumpur is Bangsar and Damansara Heights. Apart from 'zooming in' on any vacant land, developers are extensively buying up and demolishing individual houses, mostly constructed less than 10 years ago, for "renovation".

This involves tearing down the entire existing house and except for the facade, rebuilding what amounts to a completely new house, stretching the land area to the limit of the land acreage. This has resulted in the immediate neighbours having to sell their once high-quality houses because the retaining walls and indeed the renovated house itself is only an arm's length away.

Moreover, some of these constructions can be easily described as 'rumah hantu' because of their weird designs. These clearly have the markings of the 'nouveau riche' who also find investment in housing a way of avoiding income tax.

The deputy prime minister also needs to remember that the SIA report is not simply to provide a kind of 'welfare' assistance to those adversely affected. Rather, it must also ensure that those affected must be given a 'stake' in the projects that are to be developed. Again this means more than giving low-cost housing on easy terms but that those affected should, wherever possible, be given a place in the projects themselves either by the providing of employment opportunities or otherwise.

The deputy premier should be reminded that a proper mechanism must be in place for the implementation of SIA reports and this must be given priority. As it stands the mayors and local councils still have wide powers of discretion. For instance, in the building of high-rise buildings even in high-density areas, they still have powers of approval without consultation.

Finally, I understand that professional town planners, urban sociologists and university academics have initiated a professional association to ensure that the implementation of the SIA will be of the highest quality. It has been registered as the Malaysian Association of Social Impact Assessment and will be holding its inaugural AGM soon. I trust that all professionals concerned should make it a point to obtain details and to attend the AGM.

The writer is pro-tem president, Association for Social Impact Assessment.