The government has been urged to repeal the Destitute Persons Act (DPA) 1977 as the Act is irrelevant and does not safeguard the homeless' welfare.

Laywers for Liberty coordinator Michelle Yesudas said that the Act criminalises homelessness, and allows the authorities to detain anyone dressed shabbily or loitering around.

"By definition, the use and implementation of this act is same as the Sedition Act and Internal Security Act (ISA)."

"The homeless are considered to be criminals when their only crime being unable to fend for themselves," she said at a forum on the issue of homelessness yesterday.

Yesudas (left in picture) , a lawyer, also said that the homeless should be given a choice to determine what they want and not be captured and held against their will like criminals.

The DPA allows authorities to detain vagrants at welfare centres against their will for up to two years.

Also on the panel was Welfare Department officer Mad Darus Hassan and a coordinator for soup kitchen Dapur Jalanan, Hadi Khalid.

We don't arrest the homeless

Refuting Yesudas, Mad Darus said the DPA should not be repealed as it provides the underprivileged access to welfare.

"There is no such thing as 'arresting the homeless'. We just help them by placing them in welfare homes, which are much more comfortable than being on the streets," he said.

He said there would be amendments made to the Act but there are no plans to abolish it.

According to him, without the act, the Welfare Department would face problems in assisting the homeless.

In July, the government launched an operation to round up the homeless and place them in welfare homes.

It also placed a ban on soup kitchen operations within the city within a two-kilometre radius of downtown Bukit Bintang.

The controversial ban was highly criticised by NGOs working with the homeless, and was lifted in August.

The Malay Mail Online also reported that homeless people housed at a welfare institution in Sungai Buloh had begged its reporter to get them out.

NADIA OTHMAN is a trainee reporter at Malaysiakini .