KL soup kitchens rail against City Hall ban
BY MICHELLE TAM
A filepix of Pertiwi Soup Kitchen founder Munirah Abdul Hamid (left) giving out food to the needy.
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PETALING JAYA: Social workers have lashed out at the ban on soup kitchens in Kuala Lumpur city centre, terming the move cruel and ineffective.
Pertiwi Soup Kitchen founder Munirah Abdul Hamid said soup kitchens provided a guarantee of a decent meal for the homeless and hard-core poor in the city.
"Some of them can only buy one packet of iced coffee, which they sip throughout the whole day.
"People with low wages, the hard-core poor trying to make ends meet in the city - these are the ones we are helping," she added.
On Tuesday, Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor announced that soup kitchens would not be allowed within a two kilometre-radius of Lot 10.
He said the activity encouraged people to remain homeless and jobless, with an added result of litter and disease-carrying scavengers.
Munirah rubbished talk that soup kitchens caused littering, and said she was prepared to meet Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib to prove her point.
"Datuk Bandar, we have trash cans and volunteers to clean up after we distribute food to the homeless, so Pertiwi always leaves the donation area cleaner than when we found it!" she said.
According to the 64-year-old, Pertiwi sometimes arrives to set up their soup kitchen even before Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) had cleaned the dirty surroundings.
But the ban is nothing new, Munirah added.
Prior to this, Pertiwi was not allowed entry into the "impenetrable" Bukit Bintang area.
"We did try to feed the poor there back in 2010. We could see people living around the monsoon drains, but we were not allowed in," she said.
The ban is also reportedly aimed at reducing the culture of begging, which Tengku Adnan blamed for tarnishing the City's image.
"Beggars who are part of syndicates are not the people we feed. These beggars don't even line up for our food - once they are done (begging for the day), the syndicates just take them and go off," said Munirah.
She said they had attempted to explain the difference to Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim.
Rohani commented that efforts to solve the problem of homeless people were hampered by NGOs who "pampered" them with free food.
"Who wants to be homeless? People are just lining up for clean water and a simple meal. It's taken a while for NGOs to earn their trust - don't sweep it all away with this ban," Munirah cautioned.
Zuhri Yuhyi, a social worker with Muslim NGO Mercy Mission, said the Ministry should handle the issue in a more tactful and strategic manner.
Tengku Adnan had said that soup kitchens had not been officially notified of the ban, but a meeting would be held to discuss it with them soon.
"Soup kitchens have been around for many years. It would be helpful if NGOs were briefed and enlisted to plan together with the Government," said Zuhri.
The Homeless Cafe coordinator added that those who visit their soup kitchen at Anjung Singgah, a crisis centre at Jalan Hang Lekiu, were not the same beggars spotted on the streets.
"The ones who come to us have odd jobs and a meagre income. We eat with them and get to know them better. Soup kitchens aid their survival," said the 33-year-old.
Zuhri remains hopeful for a positive outcome, and urged all involved to have greater empathy for the plight of the less fortunate.
BY MICHELLE TAM
A filepix of Pertiwi Soup Kitchen founder Munirah Abdul Hamid (left) giving out food to the needy.
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PETALING JAYA: Social workers have lashed out at the ban on soup kitchens in Kuala Lumpur city centre, terming the move cruel and ineffective.
Pertiwi Soup Kitchen founder Munirah Abdul Hamid said soup kitchens provided a guarantee of a decent meal for the homeless and hard-core poor in the city.
"Some of them can only buy one packet of iced coffee, which they sip throughout the whole day.
"People with low wages, the hard-core poor trying to make ends meet in the city - these are the ones we are helping," she added.
On Tuesday, Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor announced that soup kitchens would not be allowed within a two kilometre-radius of Lot 10.
He said the activity encouraged people to remain homeless and jobless, with an added result of litter and disease-carrying scavengers.
Munirah rubbished talk that soup kitchens caused littering, and said she was prepared to meet Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib to prove her point.
"Datuk Bandar, we have trash cans and volunteers to clean up after we distribute food to the homeless, so Pertiwi always leaves the donation area cleaner than when we found it!" she said.
According to the 64-year-old, Pertiwi sometimes arrives to set up their soup kitchen even before Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) had cleaned the dirty surroundings.
But the ban is nothing new, Munirah added.
Prior to this, Pertiwi was not allowed entry into the "impenetrable" Bukit Bintang area.
"We did try to feed the poor there back in 2010. We could see people living around the monsoon drains, but we were not allowed in," she said.
The ban is also reportedly aimed at reducing the culture of begging, which Tengku Adnan blamed for tarnishing the City's image.
"Beggars who are part of syndicates are not the people we feed. These beggars don't even line up for our food - once they are done (begging for the day), the syndicates just take them and go off," said Munirah.
She said they had attempted to explain the difference to Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim.
Rohani commented that efforts to solve the problem of homeless people were hampered by NGOs who "pampered" them with free food.
"Who wants to be homeless? People are just lining up for clean water and a simple meal. It's taken a while for NGOs to earn their trust - don't sweep it all away with this ban," Munirah cautioned.
Zuhri Yuhyi, a social worker with Muslim NGO Mercy Mission, said the Ministry should handle the issue in a more tactful and strategic manner.
Tengku Adnan had said that soup kitchens had not been officially notified of the ban, but a meeting would be held to discuss it with them soon.
"Soup kitchens have been around for many years. It would be helpful if NGOs were briefed and enlisted to plan together with the Government," said Zuhri.
The Homeless Cafe coordinator added that those who visit their soup kitchen at Anjung Singgah, a crisis centre at Jalan Hang Lekiu, were not the same beggars spotted on the streets.
"The ones who come to us have odd jobs and a meagre income. We eat with them and get to know them better. Soup kitchens aid their survival," said the 33-year-old.
Zuhri remains hopeful for a positive outcome, and urged all involved to have greater empathy for the plight of the less fortunate.
FT MPs oppose decision on soup kitchens
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PETALING JAYA: Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng has urged the Government to postpone next week's Ops Qaseh until they have conducted proper dialogues with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the city.
“We all want to achieve a common goal of having a better city. I don’t think any reasonable person wants to be a beggar and depend on others to survive.
“There must be an underlying reason why they are in that situation,” he told the Star Online.
Ops Qaseh is a large-scale operation to get the homeless into shelters and crack down on begging syndicates. It is to be launched next week.
In relation to the operation, Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor announced that soup kitchens would not be allowed within a two kilometre-radius of Lot 10 from Monday onwards.
He claimed that the activity encouraged people to remain homeless and jobless, with an added result of litter and disease-carrying scavengers.
Lim said that if the government insisted on carrying on with the Ops Qaseh, they should inform either the NGOs or the Bar Council the location of those who were arrested.
“We can provide our legal services to those who have been arrested,” he said.
Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar meanwhile urged Adnan is to join the soup kitchens for at least three days to learn about the homeless and before making decisions to ban the kitchens from operating.
“I invite the minister to join me or a soup kitchen that is operating tomorrow night. We must have empathy, more especially if you are a leader,” she said in a statement.
She also questioned if such a decision was appropriate given its timing during Ramadhan.
Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai claimed that the authorities should have met with the soup kitchens before issuing an ultimatum.
“Adnan should see how best he could help these NGOs. On one side, they are not helping the poor and on the other side, they are stopping the kind-hearted people from helping them,” he said.
He also asked if Adnan had statistics to back up his claim that these soup kitchens were the cause of homelessness.
“The root of the problem is urban poverty and the minister shouldn’t evade their responsibilities as government leaders to solve it,” he said.
