Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak may have promised the homeless in Kuala Lumpur that they will have a roof over their heads by last month, but nothing appear to have changed for the community.

DAP’s Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, who yesterday attended a meeting with the KL mayor, said he was informed that none of the homeless shelters promised by the government are up and running yet.

KL Mayor Ahmad Phesal Talib was quoted by Astro Awani as saying that the shelters will take one to one-and-a half years more for completion.

He said the plans include acquiring a former hotel at Jalan Chow Kit to be converted into a shelter, and plans to build a shelter on a 12,000 square feet area as part of the Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad’s (MRCB) corporate social responsibility programme.

Lim ( left ) said when Ahmad was quizzed about the delay, the mayor said there was difficulty in getting the right price to acquire property to be converted into shelters.

“Even though the prime minister promised to deliver them within six months, until now the buildings have yet to be acquired and the MRCB plan is only talk for now,” he told Malaysiakini .

He added that the mayor promised to build cabins for the homeless in the interim, but the tender for that, too, has yet to be executed.

Instead, Lim pointed out that Ahmad had complained that the number of homeless people in Kuala Lumpur had increased following talks of building homeless shelters.

Ahmad ( right ) was reported by Astro Awani as saying the number of homeless people in the city had increased from 600 to between 1,500 and 2,000.

Najib had hit the streets of Kuala Lumpur July last year as he spoke to the homeless people in the city and promised shelters within six months.

The premier’s widely publicised visit came after Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor earned flak for trying to crack down on soup kitchens feeding the homeless.