AN enraged Siti Kasim is rallying city folks to object the proposed Urban Renewal Act (URA) by the Madani government which she claimed will only benefit property developers in the guise of rejuvenating dilapidated urban areas.
But such hidden agenda is cleverly covered up in the guise of seeking balance between progress and societal needs, ie the upgrading of buildings that suffer from structural problems, dilapidated electrical and drainage systems or lacking modern facilities.
The human rights activist and lawyer further warned urban dwellers in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru and Penang that if the law under the auspices of the Housing and Local Government Ministry is ever enforced, the threshold of consent will be lowered to “75%-80%” for any termination of strata titles of a subdivided building.
Currently, under Section 57 of the Strata Titles Act 1985, unanimous resolution needs to be achieved before any termination of strata titles of a subdivided building can take place.
“This means willing or otherwise, you’ve to surrender your strata title if other owners are agreeable to give up theirs,” she berated in a YouTube video.
“As far as I can see, the biggest benefactors are property developers and real estate agents for there is hardly any benefit in store for urban dwellers … for me, the proposed act is unnecessary as we already have in place many laws to support the issue of urban rejuvenation.
Extension to landed properties
“I’m afraid politicians can team up or become accomplices of property developers in the latter’s quest to seize control of valuable land plots … how can we be sure that there’s no secret planning between them?”
In this regard, Siti Kasim chided PAS for opposing the URA on racial grounds that this is a subtle tactic to remove poor Malays and Indians from continuing to settle in urban areas when in reality, it affects all city dwellers regardless of their race.
“Our rights (to own a property) are enshrined in the Federal Constitution and the government cannot simply nab it from us,” she asserted.
“For example, if you’re residing in an old urban dwelling, ie Bukit Bintang, you may feel that the location is compatible or that it has precious value although all its defects stem from failure of the building management to upkeep or uplift the building you live in.”
On the same note, Siti Kasim further forewarned that this may not only affect condominiums or flats “but can soon be extended to non-strata landed properties like bungalows in sub-urban localities like Sri Hartamas or Segambut which has now become part of Mont Kiara”.
“This might and might not happen but we cannot rule out a possible land acquisition by the developers in the future … imagine four bungalow land plots are sufficient for greedy developers to build few blocks of high-rises whereby they can reap instant billions,” projected the Orang Asli advocate.
“This can also sparked animosity between parties who are agreeable to give up their strata titles and those who don’t … to me the URA is bad news even though the government may have good intention for city dwellers.”
So what’s Siti Kasim’s final verdict?
“Sorry Madani government for I don’t buy whatever that you’re selling, ie to rejuvenate dilapidated buildings which are an eyesore … you should instead teach the rakyat about their rights to push building management to upkeep or uplift their buildings.
“This is certainly bad news for all city dwellers in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru and Penang. I really can’t fathom why the Madani government must intervene on private property ownership to begin with.” – Feb 21, 2025
