Opposition urges govt to establish committee to study URA proposal

Summary

• Opposition chief Hamzah Zainudin urges the federal government to establish a committee to study the Urban Renewal Act proposal.

• He says the committee must be inclusive of all relevant stakeholders including representatives from the opposition and NGOs.

The opposition has urged Putrajaya to establish an inclusive committee to study its Urban Renewal Act (URA) proposal.

In a statement, opposition chief Hamzah Zainudin said there are legitimate concerns surrounding the government plan and if left unaddressed, would affect the rakyat regardless of their ethnicity and religious background.

"This was the reason why a briefing session on URA held with (former prime minister) Dr Mahathir Mohamad (on Tuesday) saw many stakeholders, including from the Chinese and Indian communities, coming forward to speak up in defence of the people's rights.

"Perikatan Nasional will fight against any injustice in this Act, and at the same time, we also urge the government to establish a committee that is inclusive to all stakeholders, including representatives from the opposition and NGOs, to safeguard the future of all rakyat," the PN deputy chairperson said on Facebook yesterday.

Hamzah (above), however, did not elaborate on his special committee suggestion.

READ MORE: KINIGUIDE | Urban Renewal Act - what do we know so far?

Strong critic

The opposition had been a strong critic of the federal government's plan to introduce URA, where some claimed it would drive out poor Malays from urban areas.

Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman from Muda has branded the bill as a "house-grabbing Act", warning that it could disproportionately benefit developers at the expense of lower-income groups.

PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man described the proposed Act as a subtle tactic to displace poor Malays and Indians from urban areas, while the party's youth wing had threatened to mobilise a rally.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim responded to the critics, saying that the URA would not give the government the power to change the status of lot ownership.

Anwar also stressed that the URA would not change the bumiputera percentage in the area.

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