We’ll mobilise a larger rally to defend URA, says Anwar

 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says the government wants to redevelop areas in Kuala Lumpur through the Act, so that Malays are no longer stuck in the same cramped conditions that they have been living in for 50 or 60 years.

KUALA LUMPUR: 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has vowed to mobilise an even larger rally to defend the proposed Urban Renewal Act (URA) if the opposition follows through on its threats to protest against the bill.

Speaking at the 59th anniversary of Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara), Anwar cautioned the opposition against obstructing efforts to improve the living conditions of urban Malays.

“We want to use this law to redevelop areas so that Malays in Kuala Lumpur, for example, are no longer stuck in the same cramped conditions that they have been living in for 50 or 60 years. Yet, they oppose this and threaten us with rallies.

“I’m warning them not to challenge us. We are fighting for the poor, the majority of whom are Malays, along with some Indians and Chinese.

“If they want to protest, we can fill an entire stadium to defend this policy to help the Malays,” he said in his speech.

Anwar was responding to critics of the URA, some of whom claimed it would displace poor Malays from urban areas.

PAS is among the most vocal opponents with its youth wing’s deputy chief, Hafez Sabri, labelling the proposed legislation “modern colonisation” and comparing it to the forced displacement of Palestinians.

PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man also said Perikatan Nasional MPs would oppose the bill, set to be tabled in June, arguing it could threaten social harmony.

However, housing and local government minister Nga Kor Ming dismissed claims that the proposed law targets any specific ethnic group. - FMT