‘Kill the Bill’: States, MPs and Residents Close Ranks Against Urban Renewal Act

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 — The government’s ambitious Urban Renewal Act (URA), touted as a modern framework to revitalise dilapidated city areas, has instead ignited one of the fiercest political and public backlashes in recent memory.

On Tuesday, chants of “Reject URA” and “Kill the Bill” rang out outside Parliament as protestors from residents’ associations, including the Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park Low-Cost Flats Resident Action Committee and Kuala Lumpur Residents Action for Sustainable Development (KLRA+SD), gathered to voice opposition. Waving placards, they decried the Bill as a threat to community rights and land ownership.

The crowd’s message was echoed inside Parliament, where both opposition MPs and government backbenchers expressed unease with the legislation’s second reading scheduled this week. Lawmakers such as Wong Chen (PH-Subang), Zahir Hassan (PH-Wangsa Maju) and Rodziah Ismail (PH-Ampang) joined the demonstrators, standing shoulder to shoulder with Perikatan Nasional MPs including Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin (PN-Putrajaya) and Datuk Idris Ahmad (PN-Bagan Serai).

The protests reached a symbolic climax when Deputy Housing and Local Development Minister Aiman Athirah Sabu received multiple memoranda from rally organisers, led by Gerakan Pembela Ummah (Ummah) president Mohd Zai Mustafa.

Urban Renewal Chaos

Beyond the gates, the most damning rebuke came from the SG4 states — Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis — whose menteris besar issued a joint statement rejecting the URA outright. They warned that the Bill undermines state powers under the Town and Country Planning Act 1976, threatens bumiputra land ownership, and risks creating “communal divides” in urban areas.

“The Act also takes into account the needs, attitudes and culture of the local population,” they said of existing laws, arguing that the URA’s centralised approach was far less respectful of local autonomy.

Opposition chief whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Baru) went further, promising bloc voting against the Bill and warning it contradicted the Land Acquisition Act 1960, which vests authority in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, not federal ministers. “We want to know which MPs support and oppose the Bill,” he said.

Critics also accused the government of poor consultation. Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (PN-Kubang Kerian) claimed stakeholder engagement was “non-transparent” and dismissed public concerns. “How can the government say they have done proper consultation when rejections came from the very first reading?” he asked.

For the government, the URA is meant to replace outdated laws and spur urban redevelopment. For its critics, however, it is nothing less than a direct assault on state rights, community ownership, and the delicate ethnic balance of Malaysia’s cities.

As chants of “Kill the Bill” echoed outside Parliament, the stage was set for an explosive showdown in the Dewan Rakyat.

Business News