‘We will never betray you’: Anwar says URA Bill to help poor, tells critics to drop racial spin
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim speaks during the opening ceremony of the East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE) at Ampang Toll Plaza in Selangor August 29, 2025. — Picture by Firdaus Latif
Friday, 29 Aug 2025 6:15 PM MYT
AMPANG, Aug 29 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today urged critics of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) Bill not to exploit racial sentiments, insisting the proposed law is aimed at improving the lives of the poor.
He said the Bill seeks to provide Malaysians with safer, more liveable homes, particularly those trapped in dilapidated and overcrowded flats.
“The narrative being pushed out there is that the prime minister and the government have bowed to Chinese demands, taking away Malay rights and relocating them. But it was the previous government that carried out those relocations,” he said.
“This government will never betray the Bumiputera, the Chinese, or the Indians, we will defend their rights,” he added during the launch of the East Klang Valley Expressway.
Anwar said that critics of the Bill often ignored conditions faced by the urban poor.
“Some of those making these comments have never seen the reality on the ground, families living in one-room flats with six children, or even two families sharing a single unit. They only speak in theory,” he said.
The URA Bill, currently before Parliament, sets out a framework for redeveloping ageing and unsafe buildings, with provisions for resident consent and oversight by authorities.
However, some critics of the Bill have claimed it would displace Malay communities in favour of others.
Others — including a coalition of residents’ groups and the National House Buyers Association — have argued the Bill gives excessive power to developers by allowing land acquisition once a set consent threshold is reached, which they say risks undermining homeowners’ constitutional rights.
Melayooo accuse URA as a land grab by DAP in cahoots with greedy Chinese ( either local or China) developers.
ReplyDeleteChinabeng accuse URA as an opening for power abuse by corrupt Melayooo government officers working with greedy Chinese or Melayooo developers .
There is some truth and a lot of disinformation in the polemics.
URA Bill is headed for collapse unless Madani can clearly justify the URA Bill necessity (there are many good reasons) and provide stronger safeguards against power abuse using the compulsive powers of the Land Acquisition Act.