“Some of the people making these comments have never seen a family of six living in a flat with one room.

“They don’t think, they just talk in theory,” he told reporters in Ampang today after officiating the East Klang Valley Expressway.

He said elected representatives must go to the ground and see these conditions for themselves, and only then will they be able to empathise with such families.

Anwar again dismissed claims that the bill was aimed at pushing Malays out of the urban areas.

He said that based on the explanation provided by housing and local government minister Nga Kor Ming, allegations that the Chinese community would take these homes away from the Malay residents were rubbish.

He said his administration would protect the interest of all races, especially those in the M40 and B40 groups.

“There are poor Malays, many of them, and there are also Indians who are poor in several areas. We need to focus on such matters,” he said, adding that the government had agreed to raise the threshold value for redevelopment to about 80%.

He also stressed the need to upgrade areas and help the poor obtain better housing.

Yesterday, Anwar rejected accusations that the government was sidelining the Malays through the proposed law. He said that part of his responsibility was to look after the welfare of the Malays in the urban areas.

The bill, tabled by Nga for the first reading last Thursday, seeks to replace outdated legislation and regulations governing the redevelopment of dilapidated urban areas.

It has been met with some resistance from the opposition as well as some government MPs.

The debate on the proposed law has since been deferred to the next Dewan Rakyat meeting in October.