IPOH: The Housing and Local Government Ministry welcomes the suggestion to convert idle office spaces into residential homes, but cannot implement it without the Urban Renewal Act (URA).
Minister Nga Kor Ming said converting unused office buildings into residential units is a good idea, as it could help reduce traffic congestion.
“When people move into these buildings, they can walk to work.
The buildings will also no longer be an eyesore,” he said at a press conference after opening the Taman Westpool Madani Recreational Park here on Saturday (Sept 6).
There have been suggestions, as reported in a Malay daily, that idle office spaces in Kuala Lumpur should be converted into residential premises.
The issue arises from about 30 million square feet of unused office space in the capital, much of which is becoming dilapidated.
The URA is intended to replace outdated laws governing the redevelopment of such buildings in urban areas, and the Bill was tabled for second reading in Parliament at the end of August, but was neither debated nor voted on, with discussions deferred to October.
Concerns have been raised about issues such as compensation, transparency, accountability, the impact on lower income groups, and the displacement of smallholders with below-market compensation.
Nga said without the URA, it would be difficult for the government to help convert office spaces into homes.
“Existing acts would involve land acquisition and eviction. Under the current legal framework, under Section 57 of the Strata Management Act (Act 317), 100% stakeholder agreement is required.
If there are 900 units and 899 agree but one does not, nothing can be done.
The government wants to help, but the legal framework makes it hard.
With the URA, the government can make rulings to give incentives to developers to revitalise dilapidated buildings,” he added.
Nga said other factors also need to be considered.
“To convert these buildings, approval is needed from the Fire and Rescue Department. There is no compromise on safety,” he said.
Separately, Nga said his ministry has recommended 13 new initiatives to the Finance Ministry for consideration in Budget 2026.
Among these is a plan to complete 10,000 public facility projects.
“These projects include Madani recreational parks, markets, hawker centres, community halls, public parks, and food courts that can benefit the people.
The ministry completed 6,611 projects last year, which is the highest record in history,” he added.
