The ban on soup kitchens within a two kilometre radius of Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur is not just ineffective but heartless, social workers say.
Zuhri Yuhyi, a social worker with NGO Mercy Mission, which runs a soup kitchen at Jalan Hang Lekiu, said the way the government handles the homeless is cruel.
“They are treated like animals when they are stuffed into trucks to be brought away,” Zuhri said, referring to the government agencies’ usual round up of the homeless.
He also added that the banning of soup kitchens will only make things worse as it would force them to turn to a life of crime or begging.
“There was no strategic planning done in the execution of the ban. This is really a bad reflection on the government as social ills will increase because of this move,” he said when contacted.
He said that there are several established NGOs who have been working with the homeless for many years, but the government has not consulted them on relevant policies.
'How about Ku Nan join us?’
Hasmah Abdul Rahman, a volunteer with Kechara Soup Kitchen said that the ban will do little to eradicate homelessness.
“The banning of soup kitchen or making it an offence would not help solve the problem. The root of the problem (homelessness) is not soup kitchens, the government should take a look into that,” she said.
She also added that the litter problem, which was cited as one of the reasons that the soup kitchens ban, is not caused by the homeless or the soup kitchens.
“The littering is not just a homeless problem but a societal problem. It is unfair of the government to blame the activist and the homeless people for the amount of garbage”
Yesterday, the Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor announced that soup kitchens providing food for the homeless are to move out from a two-kilometre radius of shopping centre Lot 10 by Monday.
Meanwhile, Dapur Jalanan Kuala Lumpur, which operates a soup kitchen at Jalan Sultan said it will continue feeding the homeless.
“We would be serving food around 10pm every Saturday in conjunction with the Ramadan…We would also like to invite the Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Mansor to join us and access the situation” it said in a statement.
The group also said that the authorities has no right to place a two-kilometre radius ban on soup kitchens as soup kitchens do not depend on state funds.
They also assured that they always maintain cleanliness during and after activities.
There are several groups running soup kitchens to cater to the growing number of homeless and poor people in the capital city.
Other volunteer groups include Food Not Bombs, the Najib Razak Club (NRC11) and Pertiwi Soup Kitchen.
Zuhri Yuhyi, a social worker with NGO Mercy Mission, which runs a soup kitchen at Jalan Hang Lekiu, said the way the government handles the homeless is cruel.
“They are treated like animals when they are stuffed into trucks to be brought away,” Zuhri said, referring to the government agencies’ usual round up of the homeless.He also added that the banning of soup kitchens will only make things worse as it would force them to turn to a life of crime or begging.
“There was no strategic planning done in the execution of the ban. This is really a bad reflection on the government as social ills will increase because of this move,” he said when contacted.
He said that there are several established NGOs who have been working with the homeless for many years, but the government has not consulted them on relevant policies.
'How about Ku Nan join us?’
Hasmah Abdul Rahman, a volunteer with Kechara Soup Kitchen said that the ban will do little to eradicate homelessness.
“The banning of soup kitchen or making it an offence would not help solve the problem. The root of the problem (homelessness) is not soup kitchens, the government should take a look into that,” she said.
She also added that the litter problem, which was cited as one of the reasons that the soup kitchens ban, is not caused by the homeless or the soup kitchens.“The littering is not just a homeless problem but a societal problem. It is unfair of the government to blame the activist and the homeless people for the amount of garbage”
Yesterday, the Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor announced that soup kitchens providing food for the homeless are to move out from a two-kilometre radius of shopping centre Lot 10 by Monday.
Meanwhile, Dapur Jalanan Kuala Lumpur, which operates a soup kitchen at Jalan Sultan said it will continue feeding the homeless.
“We would be serving food around 10pm every Saturday in conjunction with the Ramadan…We would also like to invite the Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Mansor to join us and access the situation” it said in a statement.The group also said that the authorities has no right to place a two-kilometre radius ban on soup kitchens as soup kitchens do not depend on state funds.
They also assured that they always maintain cleanliness during and after activities.
There are several groups running soup kitchens to cater to the growing number of homeless and poor people in the capital city.
Other volunteer groups include Food Not Bombs, the Najib Razak Club (NRC11) and Pertiwi Soup Kitchen.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.