PETALING JAYA: Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming has called on all parties to approach the government’s proposed Urban Renewal Bill with compassion and empathy for the plight of residents living in dilapidated flats nationwide.
Nga said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had reminded stakeholders not to misinterpret or distort the purpose of the Bill, which aims to address the needs of people living in ageing housing schemes.
“This Bill is not new. In fact, the guidelines for the bill have existed since 2012, and past governments had also expressed their intention to pass it to help residents.
“However, now that they are in the opposition, they have changed their stance and twisted the purpose of this Bill,” he told reporters after meeting the Prime Minister at the Urban Renewal Bill exhibition gallery in Parliament today.
Nga added that 534 sites across several states – including in the opposition-led SG4 states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis and Kedah – had already been approved and gazetted for PSB implementation previously.
“It is unreasonable for those who once supported this initiative to now oppose its implementation,” he said.
Earlier during the Prime Minister’s Question Time (PMQT) in Parliament, Anwar rejected racially charged claims that the Urban Renewal Bill was a strategy by the Chinese community to seize Malay rights.
He stressed that the interests of the Bumiputera, who form the majority population, would always be safeguarded under his administration.