In what seems to be the most ridiculous news, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said they will be introducing a new law against beggars and for those who help them. They will even go the length of issuing a summon to those who aid the poor.
He said after launching the Nur Ramadan programme in Putrajaya last night, “We will introduce a rule where we might issue a summons to those giving alms and haul up the beggars as most of them are foreigners. So we are going to tighten this legislation.”
He said at a news conference, “The image of my city is very bad. If I don’t do this sort of thing, society won’t be disciplined.” He also mentioned that Putrajaya was determined to rid of the homeless and has also stopped non-governmental organisations to give them food.
However, social workers don’t seem to agree with this idea (and neither do we), lashing out on the bans of soup kitchen in Kuala Lumpur, deeming it cruel and ineffective.
Munirah Abdul Hamid, the founder of Pertiwi Soup Kitchen said that soup kitchens arranges a decent meal for the homeless and the poor that resides in the city. Some of them can hardly afford drinks and is only able to purchase a packet of iced coffee, which they have to sip throughout the entire 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 also said.
