'Anwar lying', Mahathir warns URA will marginalise poor Malay landowners in cities

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today hit out at the government's plan to introduce the Urban Renewal Act (URA), saying that the law, if passed, would worsen the plight of landowners in Kampung Sungai Baru, Kuala Lumpur, who are already embroiled in a struggle against developers under the existing act.

He also maintained that the proposed act was aimed at taking over land owned by the poor for development purposes.

"There should be no more laws to take land reserved for the Malays, who are generally poor," he said after receiving a visit from a group of Kampung Sungai Baru residents who had refused to make way for private developers.

Their land, located in the heart of the capital city, is believed to be worth millions of ringgit.

Mahathir also slammed the MPs who did not raise the issue in the Dewan Rakyat.

"They know about the Malay reserve land that has already been sold. But they remain silent in the Dewan Rakyat," he said.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had defended the government's move to introduce URA which critics said would erode the rights of Malay landowners, especially in major cities.

Anwar had argued that URA would help restore dilapidated areas, the majority of which were inhabited by poor Malays.

"You are just jealous and envious," he had said at the end of last month.

"Their disease is that they cannot see people being happy or the implementation of good projects."

URA has been actively promoted by Housing and Local Government Minister, Nga Kor Ming.

The plan sparked controversy due to the percentage of building owner approval which was lowered from 100% to 80%, causing Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman to describe it as the "Home Seizure Act".

Mahathir said the renewal of dilapidated areas should not be achieved through the forcible removal of poor residents.

He gave the example of Singapore where he said Malay villages had been destroyed and their residents scattered into separate locations.

"That is what will happen in Malaysia when we take Singapore as our model, when we pass the Urban Renewal Act," he said.

'Anwar lying'

Anwar previously said that no original owners would be forcibly removed or evicted from their land under URA.

Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat, he said the act had no provisions allowing it to evict the original owners.

But Mahathir said Anwar's assurances were meaningless.

"This person is forever lying," he said. "He promises this and promises that."

In Kampung Sungai Baru, a number of low-cost flats have already been demolished to make way for a development project.

Several residents have refused to accept compensation from the developer and are instead resisting the takeover through the Land Acquisition Act 1960 to develop the area under the Kampong Bharu Development Corporation.

They have also rejected the amount of compensation offered, saying it is not commensurate with the market price given that the land is only a few minutes' walk from KLCC and the Golden Triangle – one of the fastest growing areas in Kuala Lumpur with a property value of over RM1,000 per sq foot.

Recently, they also disputed the claim by Federal Territories Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa that the area does not constitute Malay agriculture land.

Mahathir said that during his second tenure as prime minister from 2018 to 2020, his administration had asked for a reasonable amount of compensation – around RM3,000 per sq foot.

Last year, however, former federal territories minister Khalid Samad said that compensation for land in Kampung Sungai Baru was only RM450 per sq foot.