HONG KONG: The housing and local government ministry is in the final stage of drafting Malaysia’s first Urban Redevelopment Act (URA), which it aims to table in the Dewan Rakyat soon, says its minister, Nga Kor Ming.
He said the ministry has conducted many town hall sessions with stakeholders, including Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and state governments.
“Through the town and country planning department (PLANMalaysia), we have completed the master guidelines of urban redevelopment for the country and it was approved by the Cabinet in 2023.
“The ministry is working closely with various agencies, especially the drafting division of the Attorney-General’s Chambers, to draft the law,” he told Bernama and The Edge at the Asia Real Estate Leader’s (AREL) study tour Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China Edition.
The study tour was initiated by Rehda Institute – the research and training arm of the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) Malaysia – with more than 50 delegates visiting many unique sites, covering urban redevelopment and public housing policies and strata laws.
The delegates comprise various stakeholders, including architects, surveyors, valuers, researchers, developers, town planners, lawyers, bankers and government authorities.
Nga said that once the Act is approved by Parliament, it will create abundant investment opportunities to change the city skyline and generate hundreds of billions in gross development value (GDV).
He also said fire disasters involving losses of RM2.62 billion recorded last year by the fire and rescue department could be prevented.
Urban planning and development are crucial components of Malaysia’s economic and social agenda, especially given the current urbanisation rate of 78%, which is projected to rise to 84% by 2040.
According to Nga, some places in Kuala Lumpur and even Petaling Jaya could become slum areas in 20 years and this could lead to many ugly, dilapidated, unliveable strata properties, if there is no intervention.
“DBKL has identified 139 potential sites covering about 1,372 acres (555.22ha) within its jurisdiction that are fit for redevelopment.
“There will be four scopes of work involved: urban redevelopment, which means you demolish, then you rebuild, urban regeneration, urban revitalisation, and urban reconservation, where national heritage buildings not only cannot be demolished but they must be conserved as well,” he said.
Nga cited the example of the historic Taiping Market, the first public market in Malaya built in 1874, which is undergoing extensive urban reconservation and is slated for completion in October.
“It has gone through a very tedious process where it was torn down and is being rebuilt using the same materials, such as wood, and with the same colour to retain the same look and feel of the market,” he said.
