PSB Act Will Not Marginalise Any Race Or Income, Especially B40 - Nga

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 (Bernama) -- The Urban Renewal Act (PSB) will not marginalise, threaten or deprive certain groups based on race or income, especially the B40 group, said Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming.

Nga said the criteria for the affected areas are based on the physical, infrastructure, utility, social and property management of the community which has an impact on the deterioration of the quality of life, economy and environment which is no longer conducive or poses a danger.

In addition, he explained, the implementation of PSB also needs to obtain the consent of property owners through consultation and not forced expropriation, as well as ensuring that developers do not conduct negotiations with property owners without government intervention.

"The method of consultation carried out is comprehensive between the federal or state authorities and each legal and registered property owner and it is steered by the Executive Committee which is chaired by a government representative,” he said.

He said this at the winding up debate on the Motion of Thanks for the Royal Address for his Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) in the Dewan Rakyat today after being debated by 27 MPs.

Nga said the main basis for the enactment of the PSB Act was based on four pillars, namely Urban Redevelopment, Urban Regeneration, Urban Revitalisation and Urban Conservation, taking into account 10 principles to ensure transparency in government administration and guarantee the preservation of rights enjoyed by registered property owners.

"Among the main principles of PSB is to obtain the consent of the owners, the retention of the original population and safeguard the interests of the landowners and the cost of appropriate maintenance charges," he said. 

At the same time, he said the federal or state governments will provide various incentives to drive the success of the PSB project and property owners will continue to get the same area or ownership of new properties that are higher in value with the new environment and infrastructure.

"The method of consultation with property owners will ensure that property owners get back all appropriate rights and interests, especially the repossession of new properties in accordance with the value of existing properties and future valuations will be accommodated by developers based on the projected profits that will be controlled and agreed by the government," he said.

In addition, Nga who is also the Member of Parliament for Teluk Intan said the PSB project would be initiated by the authorities, if it reached the consent threshold of between 75 and 80 per cent of the property owners.

"Failure to reach the threshold value, the authorities will not proceed with the PSB project taking into account the views and wishes of the residents," he said.

Meanwhile, Nga urged the Local Authorities (PBT) to ensure that Ramadan bazaar traders who have obtained site approval to operate the sales site themselves, do not lease or resell the licence to third parties.

"If there are any traders who violate the approval by transferring their leases or reselling their licences, the local authorities must revoke the licences immediately and cannot compromise on this issue," he said. 

--BERNAMA