Despite wide criticism, the government will go ahead in ridding Kuala Lumpur of beggars, says Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.
Tengku Adnan said Kuala Lumpur City Hall will adopt the standard procedure of fining the road beggars.
“There is a provision in law and we will announce the standard operating procedure in one of two weeks before issuing summonses.
“Every time the people give donations, we will issue a summons to the person and also the beggars. Since the person making the donation has a lot of money, they will be required to pay immediately,” he said at a press conference at the City Hall.
In a related development, Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar (left) has urged Tengku Adnan to retract his suggestion to punish beggars and donors.
She said the minister’s proposal is a “drastic move that should be criticised”.
"The issue of beggars and homeless people is closely related to extreme poverty, and at the moment the government's efforts to curb this problem are extremely disappointing," Nurul Izzah said in a statement.
She pointed out that not one of all the policies promoted by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry had addressed the issue of beggars and homeless people.
In the European countries, Nurul Izzah said, the governments worked closely with NGOs that help homeless people, instead of punishing those who help beggars.
‘Pay heed to research by experts’
"The government must also pay heed to research, by local and international experts, which have predicted that the economy will become even more narrow for the local people if the government policies do not change," she said.
One research, carried out by a Universiti Malaya professor, Fatimah Kari, shows that poverty rates could return to the level Malaysia had in 1970 if the government failed to address growing concerns about income gaps.
Nurul Izzah said the Bank of America Merrill Lynch also predicted that Malaysia will become poor by the year 2030.
"I urge Tengku Adnan to retract his suggestion, and for the government to focus instead on eliminating poverty from its source."
"The cause of homelessness must be addressed first, not merely addressing the consequences," Nurul Izzah added.
Tengku Adnan (left) recently announced that laws will be amended to allow authorities to arrest beggars and those giving alms, and regulate soup kitchens to only operate in certain areas for the sake of cleanliness.
The minister also said that most beggars in the city are foreigners.
"We will take the approach where those who give are fined while the recipient is nabbed, since most of the beggars are foreigners.
"Besides that, NGOs that provide free food to the homeless can only operate in specified areas so as to not dirty the place," Tengku Adnan was quoted by Bernama as saying.
Tengku Adnan said Kuala Lumpur City Hall will adopt the standard procedure of fining the road beggars.
“There is a provision in law and we will announce the standard operating procedure in one of two weeks before issuing summonses.
“Every time the people give donations, we will issue a summons to the person and also the beggars. Since the person making the donation has a lot of money, they will be required to pay immediately,” he said at a press conference at the City Hall.
In a related development, Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar (left) has urged Tengku Adnan to retract his suggestion to punish beggars and donors.She said the minister’s proposal is a “drastic move that should be criticised”.
"The issue of beggars and homeless people is closely related to extreme poverty, and at the moment the government's efforts to curb this problem are extremely disappointing," Nurul Izzah said in a statement.
She pointed out that not one of all the policies promoted by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry had addressed the issue of beggars and homeless people.
In the European countries, Nurul Izzah said, the governments worked closely with NGOs that help homeless people, instead of punishing those who help beggars.
‘Pay heed to research by experts’
"The government must also pay heed to research, by local and international experts, which have predicted that the economy will become even more narrow for the local people if the government policies do not change," she said.
One research, carried out by a Universiti Malaya professor, Fatimah Kari, shows that poverty rates could return to the level Malaysia had in 1970 if the government failed to address growing concerns about income gaps.Nurul Izzah said the Bank of America Merrill Lynch also predicted that Malaysia will become poor by the year 2030.
"I urge Tengku Adnan to retract his suggestion, and for the government to focus instead on eliminating poverty from its source."
"The cause of homelessness must be addressed first, not merely addressing the consequences," Nurul Izzah added.
Tengku Adnan (left) recently announced that laws will be amended to allow authorities to arrest beggars and those giving alms, and regulate soup kitchens to only operate in certain areas for the sake of cleanliness.The minister also said that most beggars in the city are foreigners.
"We will take the approach where those who give are fined while the recipient is nabbed, since most of the beggars are foreigners.
"Besides that, NGOs that provide free food to the homeless can only operate in specified areas so as to not dirty the place," Tengku Adnan was quoted by Bernama as saying.
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