Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Mansor’s claim that most beggars in Kuala Lumpur are foreigners is contradicted by an earlier government study, said soup kitchen Dapur Jalanan coordinator Adam Adli Abdul Halim.

The 2010 study by the Department of Welfare, Adam Adli ( left ) said, states that 99.3 percent of the homeless persons interviewed were Malaysians.

“These figures came from the Department of Welfare itself.

“So, I don’t understand why a body responsible for social welfare did not take any initiative to correct this misconception,” he told a press conference today.

 

He said most of the city’s homeless are in fact migrant workers from other states in Malaysia, but find themselves stranded when they could not find enough income to sustain themselves nor purchase a ticket home, and would not find jobs at home even if they manage to find their way back.

 

Some of these homeless people have said that they do not need special help, but urged the government to focus on creating jobs in their hometowns instead so they won’t have to come to the city, he said.

 

Popular myth

Another popular myth that needs dispelling, he continued, are claims that the homeless are lazy. Most of them are in fact employed in low-paying jobs and cannot afford a place to live.

 

Adam Adli was speaking at a press conference held by a coalition of 12 NGOs calling for the abolition of the Destitute Persons Act 1977.

 

Apart from Dapur Jalanan, some of the other NGOs involved include Brickfields Stakeholders Association, Dignity International, Food Not Bombs Kuala Lumpur, Institute Rakyat, Lawyers for Liberty (LFL), Suaram and The Nasi Lemak Project.

 

LFL coordinator Michelle Yesudas ( left in photo ) said the act is tantamount to criminalising the existence of a whole class of people.

 

She also compared the law to the now-abolished Internal Security Act, because those detained under the law would be presented to a magistrate without any legal representation, and can be held in a welfare home for periods up to three years that can be extended indefinitely.

 

Upon arrest, they may also be subject to drug tests, checked whether they possessed identity documents, and other investigations. They may be released if they are in the clear, only to be arrested again in the next round of anti-homeless operations.

 

“This is a misuse of our criminal administration. They are placed in lockups, are they criminals or the urban poor?

 

“Their way of life is criminalised, why? We go back to the definition of ‘destitute’ (in the Destitute Person’s Act). They are disturbing the life of the elite,” she said.

 

She explained that the Destitute Persons Act defines a destitute person as an individual found begging in public in a way that “causes or likely to cause annoyance” to others, or if a person is without “visible means of sustenance” or place of residence and is unable to explain himself.

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