Thousands in KL march against Urban Renewal Act, invoking parallels to ‘stolen’ Palestinian land

KUALA LUMPUR – A rally against a Bill that will make it easier for property developers to redevelop rundown neighbourhoods took on anti-Israel overtones on Oct 4, with protesters drawing parallels between what they say is a law that allows forced land grabs in Malaysia and the situation that Palestinians face.

Organised by opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN), the rally saw around 4,000 people thronging the streets of the capital city to protest against

the controversial Urban Renewal Act (URA)

, many of them wearing the black-and-white chequered keffiyeh associated with the Palestinian cause.

Protesters chanted “Reject URA” and hoisted banners saying “All eyes on Global Sumud Flotilla”, calling attention to the 23 Malaysian volunteers on the fleet who were detained by Israeli forces earlier this week. They were

later released on Oct 4

.

In what is a common modus operandi in Malaysia – using the Gaza issue for domestic political purposes – the protesters also criticised Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. They slammed him for

inviting US President Donald Trump

, viewed as a staunch supporter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to Kuala Lumpur for the Asean Summit in late October.

They then sought to portray the Democratic Action Party (DAP) as the “Developers’ Action Party”, as the Bill is driven by DAP member and Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming.

DAP is the largest party in the Pakatan Harapan-led governing coalition, which is often accused by PN supporters of being anti-Malay and anti-Islam.

PN parliamentary chief Whip Takiyuddin Hassan also engaged in wordplay, referring to the URA as the “Urban Robbery Act”.

He told the crowd at the protest: “If the URA is passed in Parliament, we will be ruled by the Developers’ Action Party. Nga Kor Ming will decide which land is taken and for which developer. We must learn from what the Palestinians have experienced – their land was stolen and seized.

“They (DAP) are not interested in development. They only want the land. When that day comes, the indigenous people will be evicted.”

The sentiment has complicated the Anwar administration’s efforts to push the Bill through its second reading in the upcoming parliamentary session on Oct 6.

The rally turnout was modest, but is viewed as a crucial show of force to mobilise parliamentarians to reject the Bill ahead of the vote. Currently, PN’s 68 MPs are likely to join forces with Barisan Nasional’s 30 MPs and seven from Datuk Seri Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat, who have expressed reservations about it.

Opposition leader Hamzah Zainuddin urged Mr Anwar to step down over the URA Bill and his invitation to Mr Trump.

“We reject Trump setting foot in Malaysia. Down Israel. Free Palestine,” he said at the protest.

Critics argue that the Bill – which aims to lower the consent threshold for the redevelopment of strata-title properties from the current 100 per cent to 80 per cent – could result in the eviction of home owners who do not want what they see as unfair compensation.

This previously sparked a violent clash on Sept 11 between Malay villagers who refused to leave their homes in Kampung Sungai Baru and police officers.

Mr Mohamed Hamidi Mohamed Saufi, 33, who took part in the rally, said the URA Bill presents a potential threat to land ownership in Malaysia.

“It could be a gradual precursor to the takeover of land belonging to indigenous peoples in Malaysia,” the software engineer told The Straits Times.

Another rallygoer, Mr Nurpais Ismail, 45, said the Bill is redundant and should be retracted. “In the past, Kuala Lumpur was developed without the URA. We need to fine-tune the current laws to better protect consumers’ rights to receive compensation,” the businessman added.

Umno, one of the partners in the ruling coalition, has moved to address anxiety over the proposed law among Malays. It ran a convention on Oct 3 to dissuade its own party members from joining the rally.

Convention organiser Johari Abdul Ghani, who is Umno’s special task force chairman for refining the URA Bill, said the proposed law will be referred to a Parliamentary Select Committee for further deliberation.

“The findings from the convention will be discussed with Umno president and Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi to address public opinion on the Bill,” Datuk Seri Johari said at a press conference on Oct 3. Mr Johari is also an Umno vice-president and a federal minister.

Mr Nga said he is open to suggestions for more deliberation. “Our main focus next week is on the budget. Other matters, we can do after the budget. No issue,” he was quoted as saying by The Star on Oct 4.

Mr Adib Zalkapli, who heads a Malaysian political risk consultancy, said the URA Bill should ideally go through robust debate, especially in Parliament.

“If the government believes it can secure the support of Parliament to pass the Bill, then they should proceed,” the managing director of Viewfinder Global Affairs told ST.