KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 — Homelessness should be resolved by various government ministries and not solely by the Welfare Department, a coalition of NGOs said today.
The coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) formed over the homeless issue also expressed concern with the mental and emotional health of the homeless people detained at the Pusat Sehenti Bina Diri Sungai Buloh.
“Their detention now cruelly deprives them of personal liberty, independence, and essential social support from peers in the homeless community,” the coalition said in a statement today.
The Malay Mail Online reported yesterday detainees at the centre were pleading to be taken out and said that they were being kept there for no reason, with some complaining of being held there for months.
One of the over 30 detainees said she was prohibited from making phone calls, while another said she was not allowed to return to her hometown for Hari Raya.
They are being detained under the Destitute Persons Act 1977, which critics say is akin to the abolished Internal Security Act (ISA) that allows for detention without trial, at the centre for the homeless and the destitute.
The coalition said addressing homelessness was the responsibility of various ministries as the issue involves housing, labour, education and rural and regional development.
“Persecuting the homeless is not the solution,” said the NGOs.
“People who are homeless will still return to the streets — their only place to find work and peer support. (The) government must address homelessness and poverty in a more humane and constructive manner, via in-community consultation,” they added.
The coalition noted that people experiencing homelessness faced many structural barriers in escaping poverty and homelessness, such as employers refusing to hire those who have lost their identity cards (ICs) and the high RM300 cost in replacing the document.
“The Social Welfare Department (JKM) has refused to allow homeless persons to register for aid they qualify for, citing the lack of IC and a residential address,” said the coalition, noting that many could not apply for the 1 Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) government cash aid either.
