HBA Warns URA Conflicts with KL's New Transparency Pledge

HBA was commenting on Hannah Yeoh’s announcement that large-scale projects in KL must now include prior disclosure and meaningful input from elected MPs to boost accountability and transparency in urban planning. The association welcomed Yeoh’s move, which it said acknowledged that over-centralised, closed-door decision-making had contributed to a serious trust deficit in urban governance. However, HBA said the URA being pushed by the housing and local government ministry, which plans to reduce homeowner consent thresholds and centralise discretionary powers, was at odds with Yeoh’s transparency drive. “While one ministry moves towards greater transparency, early consultation and democratic oversight, the proposed URA proceeds in the opposite direction,” it said in a statement. HBA said that urban redevelopment directly affected private property rights, security of tenure and community stability, and that such matters could not be left to guidelines or post-approval processes but must instead be clearly defined in law from the outset. “These two approaches cannot logically co-exist,” it said. The association also reiterated that it did not support the URA in its current form, which has been tabled for a second reading in the Dewan Rakyat. “Until the bill is amended to align with constitutional protections, coherent planning policy, and genuine participation by affected owners and communities, HBA cannot endorse its progression,” it said. “You cannot claim transparency in one ministry, while weakening consent and safeguards in another.”