The group said due diligence on consent obtained, and mediation mentioned recently by housing and local government minister Nga Kor Ming were “at most remedial and not preventive”.
“Remedial measures do not help residents to have a say as to what redevelopment type is suitable for them and give them options to decide on,” it said in a statement today.
“They also do not address questionable tactics currently used, where residents are compelled to give consent under duress or coaxed into consenting to a development where vital information is not made known.”
KLRA+SD said Nga’s assurance that authorities will monitor how these agreements are obtained and offer mediation was not enough.
“Verbal assurances have limited reliability, are subject to interpretation, and can change depending on who holds office,” it said.
The group called for the bill’s urban renewal framework to be publicly socialised, allowing residents and elected representatives to give input before Parliament debates it.
“This would allow the people’s voices to reach Parliament and a more holistic discourse on the bill,” it said.
The debate on the Urban Renewal Bill 2025 was postponed to the next Dewan Rakyat meeting in October, following resistance from the opposition and some in the government bloc, including seven PKR MPs and those from Barisan Nasional.
The bill outlines three types of projects – redevelopment involving tearing down and rebuilding housing projects; regeneration involving repairs or upgrades to dilapidated or abandoned buildings; and revitalisation through upgrading or improving an area without demolition.
It also proposes a tiered consent system of75% for buildings over 30 years old, 80% for those under 30 years old, and 51% for buildings deemed abandoned or unsafe.
Residents of Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park have also raised concerns, noting the absence of a neutral tribunal to handle appeals.
They said current avenues, such as the High Court, the commissioner of buildings, or the strata management tribunal, are seen as costly, complex, or insufficient.
The residents urged the government to establish a tribunal and to delay the bill until protection for vulnerable groups, including the elderly, disabled, and low-income families, is written into law.