KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 — For years, Kuala Lumpur’s homeless would rush to their usual queues at scattered locations across the city centre to await their weekly staple from Kechara Soup Kitchen (KSK) — a burger or a rice dish, a piece of fruit, biscuits and a bottle of water.

The fare is simple but it helps tide them over for the day at least, for it could be hours or even days until their next meal.

Unlike many Malaysians who spend their weekends on gastronomical journeys through the city’s many fancy eateries, the homeless of Kuala Lumpur say that eating, to them, is for survival, and even the basic two-meal-a-day is considered a luxury.

But after last Thursday, this hope for survival has dimmed somewhat for the city’s homeless.

News of the federal government’s intent to wipe them off the streets has forced some into hiding.

On Saturday (KSK distributes meals every Saturday), the brave among them still ventured out to KSK’s usual food queues but their numbers were few and it was a glum meal they shared among themselves as they wondered if their meal sources would really be forced out of the city centre this week

Typically, KSK would send out at least 12 teams, each with 15 volunteers, to distribute food at several key locations across the capital including Chow Kit and its surrounding areas. The teams are mobile and are tasked with feeding the homeless at three or four locations before they pack up for home.

In one night, KSK feeds at least 800 mouths, according to volunteers.

But last weekend, KSK’s numbers whittled down to just 11 teams of six volunteers each. It was just as well as only half the usual group of homeless turned up to collect their meals.

The homeless and some of KSK’s usual volunteers are believed to have shied away after the Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor’s warning on Thursday that come this week, feeding the homeless in the city centre would be deemed a crime.

He ordered the city’s soup kitchens out of a 2km zone in the city centre to better the country’s image, after saying they were dirty and attract vermin that spread diseases like Leptospirosis, and dengue.

The minister also called the homeless “lazy”, saying that some work only for a few days before they quit their jobs.

But soup kitchen “clients”, as they are referred to, are not only confined to the homeless but also to those considered as urban poor. They have a place to stay but barely earn enough for more than a meal a day.

Kechara project director Justin Cheah said it will operate as usual, but its future would depend on the outcome of the meeting tomorrow. — Picture by Choo Choy May

On Saturday night, KSK’s clients ranged from security guards, an English-speaking widow from Sabah with three children, and a man from Janda Baik who makes a living selling petai and durians.

The man, Syed Mokhtar Abdul Rahman, said he works daily from 10am to 7pm and moves from place to place.

He lamented that he has tried and failed numerous times to obtain a licence to set up shop in the city.

“So I have a mobile business and set up wherever I can. If I want to eat, I’ll just leave my umbrella and the durians… but I just take my scale with me when I go for prayers,” he told The Malay Mail Online.

“I sell durians and petai so if you want to buy, take my number and if you want to purchase immediately, come to Janda Baik, my house number is 44,” he added as he took the opportunity to make a sales pitch.

Syed Mokhtar Abdul Rahman poses with some petais which were left over from his sales in front of Kechara Soup Kitchen volunteers, July 6, 2014. — Picture by Melissa Chi

Syed Mokhtar said the wares he carries with him in his car has enough for two days of sale.

But even with the little he had, the jovial man decided to open four of his best durians for KSK’s volunteers and his fellow meal partners.

Unlike Syed Mokhtar, however, Sabahan Mimi Rahemi does not have a job.

“I’ve been in KL for 17 years and I’m jobless. We are single mothers and we are thankful to the volunteers who are here at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman,” the 56-year-old said, referring to a woman from Indonesia whom she calls her best friend.

KSK’s volunteers also served a Malay man with HIV who became homeless after his wife divorced him over his drug habits, and a Chinese woman in her 40s, who does not work because of a developmental disability.

Volunteers told the Malay Mail Online that although their clients could probably survive even without their help, they felt they should do what they can to help.

They added that the government should take stern action to eradicate syndicate beggars and not lump them in the same group as the homeless, or the urban poor who are just looking to get one more meal that they can’t afford.

FT ministry officials will be meeting groups running soup kitchens tomorrow morning.

Kechara project director Justin Cheah who had previously said the soup kitchen operations at Kechara will cease because of the directive, has since said it will operate as usual, but its future would depend on the outcome of the meeting tomorrow.