PAS Youth said it will send an official invitation to Umno to join the Islamist party's Oct 4 rally protesting the proposed Urban Renewal Act (URA).
PAS Youth deputy chief Hafez Sabri called his party the initiators of a movement that will see the Housing and Local Government Ministry's bill withdrawn.
Hafez (above) said the rally, which he called the "Mega Rally to Reject the URA", will be held in Kuala Lumpur.
"This rally is one that brings together all the people's entities with PAS Youth as the initiator. We want to join other NGOs, and we have a schedule to meet all parties.
"To Umno, we will send an official invitation to (invite them) to join the rally to reject URA, because Umno leaders are seen to be in line with us on this issue by opposing the bill that was tabled recently," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.
The Manjoi assemblyperson said PAS Youth is expecting a turnout of 50,000 demonstrators.
On Sept 2, Umno announced that party vice-president Johari Abdul Ghani has been appointed to lead a special team to improve the bill.
The study's findings will be presented at the party's Urban Malay Convention before it is brought to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Pressuring bill’s withdrawal
At the press conference, PAS Youth information chief Nazrul Hakim Nazir said the main purpose of the rally is to pressure the government to repeal the bill.
Nazrul said PAS Youth was disappointed to hear that Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming will be tabling the bill for its second reading on Oct 6.
He also claimed that Nga was relying on government machinery to avoid going into detail about the bill.
"He used the ministry’s official media and government machinery funds to tell what narrative they wanted to bring, but the issue arising from the overlapping of state powers was not explained.
"I think this is not the Urban Renewal Bill, but the Nga bill," he said.
Nazrul further expressed his confidence that improvements to the bill will not resolve its issues.
Facilitating redevelopment
The bill is meant to facilitate redevelopment by the government in areas that are several decades old.
Key aspects of the bill include the consent threshold for urban redevelopment to proceed, as well as the compensation given to the residents involved.
PAS claims that the redevelopment project will further marginalise Malays in urban areas.
On Aug 21, Nga tabled the bill for its first reading in the Dewan Rakyat.
The opposition has expressed vehement disagreement with the bill, claiming that it has an ulterior motive behind its introduction.
It is uncertain if this led to the government pushing back debates on the bill to the next Dewan Rakyat sitting.
On Aug 28, Nga announced several amendments, particularly on provisions regarding demographic composition and the threshold of consent from property owners.
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