KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s plan to redevelop ageing properties in urban areas using a proposed new law has come under a harsh spotlight, following a bitter dispute over land rights, fair compensation and seemingly ruthless evictions in an old Malay settlement near downtown Kuala Lumpur.
The clash on Sept 11 between Malay villagers who refused to leave their homes in Kampung Sungai Baru (New River Village) and the police, who were there to carry out the court-ordered eviction, raises questions over the Anwar administration’s proposed Urban Renewal Act (URA), a move meant to rejuvenate old sections in urban neighbourhoods.
The Dang Wangi district police chief was left with a bloodied face following the altercation as some villagers resisted eviction, while their supporters tried to break the police cordon around the village. The village, located on 9ha of leasehold land, is being cleared for demolition to build a luxury condominium.
Part of the raised racial tensions
over the demolition of Kampung Sungai Baru
is its location next to historic Kampung Baru – the last large pocket of land owned by Malays in the heart of the capital city. The two areas are actually separate land parcels.
Kampung Sungai Baru is sandwiched between Kampung Baru and the Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (Akleh). The homes in Kampung Sungai Baru are not on Malay reserve land and were developed in the early 1970s.
Malaysia’s opposition and critics of the proposed law have jumped onto the eviction mayhem, saying the new Act will give project developers excessive powers to force home sales and evict those who refuse to move out once a set consent threshold is reached, thus eroding individuals’ property rights.
Mounting public backlash has already led the government to push voting on the proposed law in Parliament to October. The Bill was to have been tabled for its second and third readings on Aug 27 and 28, respectively. The second reading of the Bill will now be tabled on Oct 6, before proceeding to the third reading, along with amendments agreed upon, and followed by a vote.
At its heart, the Bill seeks to lower the consent threshold required for the collective sale of strata title properties for redevelopment to 80 per cent.
Under the current Section 57 of the Strata Titles Act 1985, any collective redevelopment or sale of such properties requires all owners to agree to it.
The causes of conflict on this issue are disagreement over compensation and unhappiness over the land acquisition process, which some owners say lacks transparency.
In the Kampung Sungai Baru case, about 72 per cent of the home owners had agreed to move out. Flat owners were offered one replacement unit in the planned condominium valued at between RM884,000 (S$271,000) and RM1 million each. Terraced house owners were allocated between three and nine units each, with a combined estimated value of RM2.7 million to RM8.1 million.
Of the 328 home owners in Kampung Sungai Baru, 264 own flats and 64 own terraced houses.
Those against redevelopment have been offered around RM450 per sq ft (psf) for their homes. But they want more, saying that units in nearby high-end condominiums just across the river and less than 1km away from the Petronas Twin Towers are being sold for at least RM1,500 psf.
Mr Amir Fareed Rahim, strategic director at risk consultancy KRA Group, told The Straits Times: “The way Kampung Sungai Baru has unfolded raises alarm bells about how the Urban Renewal Act could be applied. If residents can be evicted despite their objections, then property rights risk becoming contingent rather than protected. This creates deep anxiety about future redevelopment projects.”
Kampung Sungai Baru Residents’ Rights committee adviser Muzaffar Razman also worry about the process, wondering how residents could apparently be thrown out of their homes despite there being ongoing court cases over the matter.
He said several home owners who were against their eviction have submitted filings with the court. “This is oppression against the residents. They are taking away people’s properties,” he told ST on Sept 24.
Under the proposed URA, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government plans to redevelop some 139 pieces of land in Kuala Lumpur to improve housing conditions for the urban poor.
Datuk Seri Anwar said in August that critics of the Bill often overlook conditions faced by the urban poor. “Some of those making these comments have never seen the reality on the ground – families living in one-room flats with six children, or even two families sharing a single unit. They speak only in theory,” he added.
Supporters of the URA plan point to the redevelopment of the former Razak Mansion public housing in Kuala Lumpur as a success story.
The RM150 million mixed residential-commercial project, now called 1Razak Mansion, was completed in 2017. The original flat owners received the keys to their new 800 sq ft homes at no cost, while long-term tenants had the option to buy the units for RM42,000.
Supporters of urban renewal say the redevelopment of Kampung Sungai Baru is long overdue, with the first phase having been scheduled for completion four to five years ago.
Home owners from Kampung Sungai Baru showing their support for the redevelopment project near Kuala Lumpur’s city centre.
ST PHOTO: HAZLIN HASSAN
The Kampung Sungai Baru project has stalled since its start in 2016 because of the dissenting home owners, becoming further complicated when the previous federal government acquired the land in June 2021 under the Land Acquisition Act. Under that 1960 law, the government can acquire land for public purposes or economic development – such as schools or infrastructure – in exchange for adequate compensation.
In 2024, under the Anwar administration, the project was fully handed over to the private-sector developer, with few details released.
“Is it fair for us who have already waited for nine years? We have waited too long already. Forty of the home owners have died while waiting for the issue to be resolved,” Kampung Sungai Baru Property Owners Welfare committee chairwoman Sanita Yunus, representing the home owners who support redevelopment, told reporters on Sept 21.
She added that the previous five committee chairmen have also died since 2016.
Construction work on the project has been delayed to the first quarter of 2026, helmed by property developer KL City Gateway, formerly known as Ritzy Gloss.
KL City Gateway is owned by private company Suez Capital (56 per cent) and publicly listed real estate developer Sunsuria (20 per cent), with the remaining minor stakes held by three other local companies.
However, the opposition and critics are not letting the matter rest, saying owners of ageing properties should be worried if the proposed URA is pushed through as this would legitimise forced evictions and favour politically connected property developers. The opposition is planning a mass rally against the Bill on Oct 4.
“Future urban renewal projects, especially in high-value and historic areas, will now be judged through the (Kampung) Sungai Baru lens. In other words, urban renewal in Malaysia will no longer be a quiet technocratic process, it will be a political battleground,” said KRA Group’s Mr Amir.
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