VIDEO l 2.38 min

Despite the government’s insistence of ridding the streets of Kuala Lumpur of vagrants and beggars, one ‘vagrant’ said he remains unfazed.

 

Spotted lying on a pavement and reading a discarded newspaper, the ‘vagrant’ said he refused to be put in a welfare home and claimed that lawyers would defend him.

 

“Let them arrest us, we have our lawyers... Once we go to court, they will help us. (There are) so many NGOs around that are willing to help the people,” he told KiniTV when met near the Pasar Seni LRT station yesterday.

 

Declining to give his name, the ‘vagrant’ said he objected to being forced to stay in welfare homes.

 

“We don’t want that, we are human beings. All humans should be free, we are not birds living in cages,” he said.

 

The federal government is planning to round up homeless persons, slap a fine on those who give them alms, and bar soup kitchens from operating within two kilometres from Bukit Bintang, starting on Monday.

 

After stirring an uproar, the Federal Territories Ministry explained that plans were afoot to set up one-stop centres for the poor and homeless to provide them with food, shelter, medical services and laundry services.

 

However, not all homeless persons are planning to defy the government.

‘Beggar’ Yahya Abdullah @ Santok Singh said he intended to ask his doctor for shelter next week, when they meet for an appointment at a free clinic.

 

The 52-year-old from Puchong lamented that he did not qualify to stay in a welfare home, where he needs to be until at least 55 years of age.

 

Yahya also claimed that the government had refused to recognise him as a disabled person despite a 1991 accident which injured his leg, and did not help to him find work.

 

“They spoke of work but what work did they give? (Security) guard, for example. When you become a guard, they will check your records.

 

“I used to do drugs. They will see that in my record and disqualify me,” he lamented.

 

Yayha said he used to be an aircraft mechanic for the air force, but was discharged in 1985 when he started taking drugs.

 

He left his parents after he tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and has been homeless and begging near Masjid Jamek since.

 

Yayha is currently undergoing methadone therapy for his drug addiction and goes to a HIV clinic every three months.

 

‘I tried but could not find work’

 

Meanwhile, 28-year-old ‘vagrant’ Hazelliena Ezriantie Noor Mohamed told Malaysiakini that she had tried but could not find work.

 

Hazelliena said she used to work in restaurants and hotels after she was forced to leave her home 10 years ago due to “problems with parents”, but was sacked when she started glue-sniffing.

 

Since then, she said, other employers had refused to hire her because of her drug addiction.

 

Asked if she was receiving any social support, she said no, and instead relied on food provided by shops around Pasar Seni for sustenance.

 

She did not comment on the government’s new measures against vagrants, saying that she would “think about it” despite being asked several times.

 

Despite a public outcry against the government’s plan, several Kuala Lumpur residents told Malaysiakini that they agreed with the government.

 

One exception is on its decision to impose a fine on those giving alms, where the objection appeared unanimous.

 

“We sincerely want to help when we give alms... The punishment on us is severe,” security guard Mohd Khairul Azmin told Malaysiakini , after giving alms to a beggar near Masjid Jamek.

 

Nevertheless, he agreed with the government’s move to take in beggars and vagrants and to bar soup kitchens from operating in the city centre, although he conceded that it seemed cruel, as long as shelter and jobs are provided.

 

“There’s just too many of them, they even come with their kids!” Khairul said, adding that he had worked in a soup kitchen before but now believes that it would make the poor lazy.

 

Student Zulkhairi Tuan Man also agreed with the government, saying, “I think it’s okay. At least they are still being helped.”

 

However, the 23-year-old felt that imposing a fine on alms-givers is excessive, and the government should not go ahead with it.

 

Meanwhile, bookseller Misnon Jamil urged the government to review its plans to rid the city centre of the homeless, saying that it was too drastic.

 

If the government makes alms-giving an offence, Misnon said, the act would simply become more covert and discrete, making it difficult to enforce.