Number of homeless in KL has risen, says mayor

The number of homeless in Kuala Lumpur has increased by almost two-fold especially since the government announced that a 12,000-sqft shelter is being built for them, said Segambut DAP member of parliament Lim Lip Eng.

Lim, who was speaking after meeting with Kuala Lumpur Mayor, Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib and KL MPs at the Mayor’s office here on Friday, said the finding is based on a survey conducted by the Kuala Lumpur City Council (DBKL).

“The survey was conducted last year after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that DBKL was building shelters for homeless in the city, with an estimated 600 people affected at that time.

“The announcement has however, attracted more homeless. Recently, DBKL discovered 1500 and 2000 of them in the city,” said Lim.

Meanwhile, Lim claimed that when he asked Ahmad Phesal on the solution to curb homelessness in the city, the mayor replied, “Apprehend everybody.”

Ahmad Phesal, when met by reporters later denied that such action will be imposed.

"That can't be done as this is a social issue and should be addressed by the government. Before, we could have acted based on enforcement, but we realised that there were several categories that need to be re-looked to solve the problem," he explained.

Ahmad Phesal said that three shelters are currently being built by Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB) as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

He said the MRCB project will see a temporary shelter being built in front of the Kuala Lumpur Hospital and it is expected to be completed next year.

Ahmad Phesal also said that the other two shelters in Jalan Chow Kit and Jalan Medan Tuanku will be completed by end of this year.