PETALING JAYA: The proposed Urban Renewal Act (URA) should be deferred and not tabled in the upcoming Dewan Rakyat meeting until a major overhaul is carried out to address public concerns, says Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki (pic).
The Umno secretary-general said this was decided by the supreme council meeting on Friday (Oct 3), which also coincided with the URA Convention Resolution earlier on the same day.
The convention, he added, brought together party leaders, non-governmental organisations, academics, developers and representatives from various communities to deliberate on the issue.
“In line with the resolutions of the convention, Umno takes a firm stand that the current URA should be postponed and not pushed forward until an extensive review is undertaken to reflect the views of all stakeholders,” said Asyraf Wajdi in a statement.
Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming presented the Bill in Parliament for its first reading on Aug 21.
The Bill aims to facilitate the redevelopment of old, dilapidated and run-down housing areas.
However, there has been mounting public backlash that the proposed new law will give project developers excessive powers to force home sales and evict those who refuse to move out once a set consent threshold is reached, thus eroding individuals’ property rights.
The Bill’s second reading, originally planned for Aug 28, was postponed to next Monday (Oct 6).
Umno had appointed its vice-president Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani to lead negotiations and convey the party’s position on restructuring and improving the proposed legislation to ensure the interests of ordinary Malaysians are safeguarded, said Asyraf Wajdi.
On a separate matter, the party’s supreme council also discussed foreign policy matters, urging the government to step up efforts for the immediate and unconditional release of Malaysian volunteers on the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) who were detained by Israeli forces.
Umno also appealed to the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to remain firm in championing Malaysia’s voice on the global stage, calling for international recognition of Palestine and demanding an end to what it described as ethnic cleansing operations in Gaza.
Earlier, the Wisma Putra announced that all 23 Malaysians detained by Israel while participating in the GSF humanitarian aid mission on Thursday (Oct 2) are safe and healthy and will be repatriated via a third country.
The detained Malaysians are singer Heliza Helmi and her sister Nur Hazwani Afiqah (aboard the Hio vessel); Nurfarahin Romli (Farah Lee) and Danish Nazran Murad (aboard the Grande Blu vessel); singer Zizi Kirana (aboard the Huga vessel); Musa Nuwayri, Iylia Balqis and Sul Aidil (aboard the Alma vessel); Haikal Abdullah, Muaz Zainal, Zulfadhli Khiduddin and Rusydi Ramli (aboard the Sirius vessel).
Also detained are Razali Awang (aboard the Inana vessel); influencer Nurul Hidayah Mohd Amin, better known as Ardell Aryana (aboard the Mikeno vessel); PU Rahmat, Norhelmi Ab Ghani, Mohd Asmawi Mukhtar, Norazman Ishak (aboard the Estrella vessel); Zainal Rashid and Ustaz Muhammad (aboard the Fair Lady vessel) as well as Muhammad Hareez Adzrami, better known as Haroqs, Muhd Haikal Luqman Zulkefli and Taufiq Mohd Razif (aboard the Free Willy vessel).
Meanwhile, five lawyers, who are also human rights legal activists from Malaysia, are currently in Amman, Jordan, to ensure the Malaysian delegates detained by the Israeli regime during the GSF mission receive transparent and fair legal protection.
