Annuar Musa: DBKL aims to create up to 1,000 jobs for homeless, to hire 200

KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is soliciting the homeless here to contact it for possible employment opportunities, said Tan Sri Annuar Musa.

The Federal Territories minister said DBKL was looking to create between 500 and 1,000 job opportunities in various sectors for the homeless including 200 jobs within the agency itself.

So far, DBKL has successfully taken around 700 to 800 homeless individuals off the city’s streets and sent them to training camps to help them become productive members of society, he said.

“Because of rural-to-urban migration, there are many who come here looking for job opportunities (without any support network). This might cause them to become homeless. If you are here to look for a job, you don’t need to become homeless.

“Just come straight to us and we will help you get a job. For those who have entrepreneur traits, we will help you find business and other opportunities,” said Annuar.

He pointed out that DBKL allocates RM200 million annually for its maintenance work and proposed that instead of outsourcing the entire budget to private companies, they could allocate 20 per cent to hiring homeless individuals to conduct the job in-house.

The jobs will be simple maintenance work such as repainting government buildings, gardening and landscaping among others.

If these individuals successfully land a job with DBKL, they will be given a salary of RM1,200. At the same time, those that successfully obtain jobs with private companies could actually make more money.

Currently, Top Glove, which is one of the biggest rubber gloves producers in the world, has already hired around 20 homeless individuals and provided them with lodgings.

Similarly, workers hired by DBKL will receive housing.

“A labourer in the Selayang wholesale market makes RM100 a day. But this is backbreaking work so they must be strong. If they work for 24 days in a month, given six days off, they would make RM2,400 a month,” said Annuar.

However, out of the 700 to 800 homeless individuals taken off the streets, Annuar said around 30 per cent are not capable of working. These are the elderly, those with mental illness, drug addicts and the disabled.

Others were returned to their family members and relatives. Apparently, some families were not aware that their relatives had become homeless in the nation’s capital in their quest to find work here.

Another aspect of Annuar’s plan for the homeless is to start urban farming, although he did not elaborate further.

To address homelessness, the minister is also looking into micro homes and other solutions but said he will announce his plans sometime next week.

He hinted that he has several “unique” plans to address the multiple issues facing Kuala Lumpur such as urban poverty, homelessness and urban housing among others.