Have the poor no right to enter Kuala Lumpur?

Below is an interview with the founder of Pertiwi Soup Kitchen Munirah Abdul Hamid

ES : In an interview with a daily quite some time ago, you mentioned that your sisters founded PERTIWI way back in 1967. How did that come about?

Munirah Abdul Hamid [MH]: It wasn't just my sister it was a group of women. These people were so lucky because they had been exposed to university education at that time and they were fortunate enough to be holding good jobs. So, they thought "Oh, we are so fortunate, lets us look at women who are not lucky enough to get the same opportunity to go to university." Then they said, "let us try and help all the women in Malaysia and make sure that they are aware there is opportunity for them to further their education up to tertiary level and then there is opportunity for them to improve themselves." So, the PERTIWI motto that time was a "Didik Wanita, Terdidiklah Negara" (Educate women and the nation too gets educated).

Over the years PERTIWI evolved and continued to address all the issues surrounding us, mainly about the family, education, positive values and all that. They also introduced the foster child project which was to sponsor children’s financial needs with potential to go further in their studies. So we went and looked for rich corporate figures, rich individuals to adopt a child and sponsor their education. We were the earliest non-governmental organization to introduce that programme.

I started the soup kitchen as a project after my friends said, "let us start something to give back to society." A friend, arwah (the late) Saadah Din, suggested we start a soup kitchen. I thought, yes! I remembered when I was 5 years old, how I used to help my mother.

My family and I lived in Alor Star. Already then, the homeless could be found. My mother felt pity on them as they looked so poor and malnourished. The homeless came to perform Friday prayers so usually on Thursday night, they would sleep in the mosque area. My mother would say "Why don’t we make some food for them”.

I still remember helping her. We made rice pudding. After it was cooked it would be placed on a trishaw, and the trishaw would bring the pudding to the mosque to be distributed to the homeless. That was my early experience in feeding the homeless. After remembering all that I agreed to start the soup kitchen.

Then I thought, to feed the people once or twice would be simple enough, but how could we make it sustainable? I made proposals and sent them to various government agencies, but none responded. When I looked at my sister, one of the earliest founders of PERTIWI, who now has Alzheimer’s, and cannot remember so much it was one of the things that give me "semangat"(the spirit) to continue.

My proposal at last was received by Datuk Mohd Rizal Sardon who was a president of the Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur Diraja. He asked what it was that I wanted to do? I told him that I wanted to do a soup kitchen. He presented my project to the Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur Diraja and they agreed with it. The Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur Diraja ran a number of activities to raise the funds needed. When it was enough, they gave the money to us and we bought a "lori pasar malam"(night market lorry).

Whilst I was raising funds, I lost my best friend in 2009, who had given me a lot of encouragement and spirit for this project. I kept my promise to her that I would be going to do it, and that my friend and I were going to launch it together. But it was too late, she died before we could do so.

We finally launched the soup kitchen on March 11, 2010. We run the kitchen 4 times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. I had thought that the soup kitchen would not be able to continue for long, but Alhamdulillah quite amazingly, the response has been very encouraging.

Until now I have never stopped. The funds to help the homeless are always available. I’ve also wondered, where are these volunteers coming from? I'm glad they are here to help me because the PERTIWI members are too old to do this. The soup kitchen brings to me a lot of memories, it made me remember my mum, my best friend and also my nephew. Everything.

ES: How are our teens and young adults now, are they receptive to the concept compared to the past?

MH: Right now, what is amazing is because there is a lot of awareness about volunteering. It is because of the social media as well. The social media is good; it has exposed and made volunteerism look positive. Something you should be involved in and I like that.

Along with it, there are a lot of positive and good sides. Universities, colleges and schools also use us as a platform to satisfy their credit hours. Corporations also have to do their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) project. Some of them are genuine, others might come just to fill their obligation. So, you get both kinds of people.

To me, volunteerism has changed because of social media. Again, the people who come are those people who are sincere and want to do it. Others would come because of what we call "voluntolds"; you are told to do this and that.

ES: Can you describe the types of people that you meet when on your food trips for example, are they mostly drug addicts or the jobless? Many families with the young?

MH: About 60% are the elderly. Elderly meaning, they are above 50. Normally, we have three lines in the soup kitchen. Line one is for mothers with children. Line two for the elderly and the third line for youths. We also have runners to help them when taking the food and drinks. The elderly have been on the streets for more than 30 years for various reasons.

Some left their family for so long that they cannot go back anymore. Maybe in their younger days, they gambled, got drunk or womanized. So the family warned them, if you don't change you have to get out from the house. Now they are starting to get ill as a consequence of being on the streets for too long.

They get the same diseases and had been sent to the hospital to get treated for various types of illnesses such as hypertension, high uric acid but still at night they sleep on the streets. That is why we provide free medical care because they have got scabies, fungal infections, aches and pains. Our gamat balm goes off the table like crazy because at night they sleep on the floor with no cover and in damp clothes. When it is 2 or 3am, the temperature drops and they will feel chilly. Their scabies infection would swell and would not be heal because they are living in dirty conditions. We are only able to provide some relief.

ES: Donations from corporate firms and sponsorship are essential, do you agree? Was it hard to get them on board on the idea?

MH: I was prepared to sponsor it myself. I never ever thought anybody would come, liking this idea and then sponsoring the soup kitchen. I even thought who would like these kinds of projects? I was wrong. Everything needed to prepare the food, medical teams, organization were made possible by the people's donations.

I don't have any idea where it came from because it never ends. The first company to support us was Esso Mobile and Bank Negara. It keeps changing from time to time, and it makes me keep moving. I never ever expect to receive these kinds of donations and support from the volunteers.

For as long as there are volunteers, donations, the homeless and me myself is also there to give them out then it is meant to happen. No matter if they are those who want it to stop. Don't discriminate the people who have fallen on hard times. Once the homeless asked me, "Do homeless people like me have no right to enter KL, is KL only for the rich people?"

ES: Have you had any ups and downs whilst running the soup kitchen? Any stories you can share with our readers?

MH: The ups are so wonderful, recently another two of our people (the volunteers) have gotten engaged. It is so nice. There have been a number of marriages. Some of the volunteers are already married to each other.

To me, it is one of the highlights. It is not a platform for love matching but it does happen. When they come and meet, I suppose they have similar interests. There is a doctor from South Africa who converted and got married to a local.

The sad part is always a death or what happens to them. When you see them, you don't know whether you will see them again or not. Their lives are very prone to danger. Of course, all of us don't know when we will meet again, Insya Allah, but to them it is because of their lifestyles. Where are they going to end up? The ones that have died, we feel so sad to lose them. The ones who are here now, don't cast them aside. Give them a chance in life.

ES: Your four times a week schedule caters to hundreds every time. Any plans to increase the frequency or location?

I don't think that I am strong enough to increase in terms of frequency (smiles). It is four nights a week so I get another three nights to rest. People know that on these four nights don't touch me because I won't go out. I think it is important that when I go out, I have the spirit. When you start a project, you don't start it and not be there.

I believe that if I have started it, for as long as I can, I must still be there. This is not about starting and getting to get famous. This is about starting and believing and knowing what I can handle. What I can handle is 4 nights and then, in terms of the number of homeless we are feeding about 700-800 people on some nights.

To me, we have covered a lot of them already. Not just homeless, it’s them and also the poor. We also provide medical help, haircuts and find employment for them when we can. For me, there is already a good infrastructure to help and befriend them. Most of the volunteers that come, they are also kind-hearted people, who will befriend all the homeless that come to us.

Usually the homeless who are close to coming out, they come to talk to you so you know they are almost ready. The ones who are not ready there is no eye contact. We know the different categories, the one without eye contact means they have no trust. They do take the food from us but they do not trust us.

ES: Will there be any special treats for the needy this Ramadhan?

MH: This is the fifth year. In Ramadan especially close to Raya period, I always make sure there will be ketupat daun palas for them and whatever items we usually eat at home; the kuih, rendang and so on. There are also bubur lambuk and some traditional kuih. Every Friday we will make "mee" and in between that there will also be other special treats. They love buns with varieties of filling in it because it can be kept for long hours.

For those who are fasting, we cannot provide them with white rice and varieties of "lauk"(dishes) because it will go stale. For those who are unable to fast because of their age and health condition, they can't go outside to eat in broad daylight because of the law.

We do not approve of them not fasting, but due to the condition they are in, for example, with legs smelly and full of maggots, it might have been better for them to eat their medicines and get healthy first. We give them buns and packet drinks, and they would bring it to those unfortunate ones, hoping that there will be no one starving out there.

I usually give them hard-boiled eggs, bread and packet drinks so that it will be quite a complete meal for them and quite long lasting. They could eat it anytime they wanted.

ES: If a group of friends wants to emulate your efforts and start their own kitchen, would this be a good idea? Or would it be better to join forces with the groups or NGOs already present on the ground? Why?

MH: There are already too many soup kitchens, so to me, it would be better to collaborate with the existing ones rather than starting or duplicating the efforts, it will be a waste. The infrastructure is already there, no matter who you are, go for it. The existing soup kitchens have their own schedules for the week. It is also important that you know the right method to prepare food or else it will go stale quickly. We ourselves learnt how to prepare the food, which ones go stale easily or what is not so edible. We also have to learn what they can and cannot eat according to their health condition such as AIDS and HIV. They have their own allergies to certain food. There are too many soup kitchens now. So my advice is its best to collaborate whenever possible. Wastage is wrong and must be prohibited.

ES: Have you ever thought of establishing a fund to build a centre for the homeless and poor?

MH: Yes, certainly. We are now seeking a suitable place to build a centre for these people. Of course we have some obstacles with the categories of HIV patients we want to accommodate. Some of them want to cross over, also those who are half way 50-50 and those who don’t want to cross over at all.

The ones who want to cross over, they already are there (at HIV centres). We are more concerned about those who don’t want to cross over. There are also those who face bankruptcy because of credit card debt and cannot face the reality. Sometimes, they don't even want to talk to you.

On these four nights, we feed all of them. Some of them are working in the centre of KL. Please, do not bar their sustenance by placing them far away. Some of them even asked me whether they have any right to enter KL.

They should be working even if it is not a 9-5 kind of job. Maybe they can work at their place of employment for 2 or 3 days and the rest of it they can spend at the centre according to their own interest.

Their masterpieces such as hand-painted cards and t-shirts can be sold so that they can gain some extra money. Don't be surprised, these people are multi-talented in various fields such as music, arts and painting. Make use of these talents. We have to give them what they like first. Don't push them too much.

In the US, they already have these kinds of centres in the city particularly at the problem area itself. These people love to be in KL as it is a rousing environment. So, do not place them far away from the city because the chances are, it would be counterproductive. - ES , HARAKAHDAILY