KUALA LUMPUR: For the homeless who depend on food distributed by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the Movement Control Order (MCO) has made it difficult for them to gain access to basic needs.
In the Klang Valley, many NGOs, soup kitchens and helpful citizens have had to stay indoors since the order came into effect on March 18.
A homeless man, who only wanted to be known as Jack Gee, said food and other essentials have been hard to come by.
“Covid-19 is not only endangering people’s lives, it has left us helpless as the people who used to give us food and essentials can no longer do so.
“We sometimes go without food for two days,” he said.
Gee said that while there were still some good Samaritans who distributed food to the homeless, they could bring only so much and it was not enough for all.
The 59-year-old from Negri Sembilan, who has been living on the streets for the past two years, said because of the MCO, many of the homeless had to constantly move from one place to another to avoid patrols by the authorities.
“We don’t blame them as they are doing their jobs, but the reality is that we are homeless and do not have a permanent shelter. Some of the policemen have been kind to us. They talk to us and some had given us money to buy food. There are those who share their food and rations with us,” said the former security guard.
Gee urged the authorities to consider allowing NGOs, soup kitchens and good Samaritans to help the homeless during the MCO period, which will end on April 14.
“I hope they can be allowed to provide us with the essentials as the MCO period has been extended by another two weeks. We need all the help we can get,” he said.
An elderly homeless man, who identified himself only as Mohd Fadzil, echoed Gee’s sentiments.
He said it was especially tough for the homeless as there was no “indoors” for them to be in.
“We have no choice but to be out in the open as we do not have anywhere to go. I am hungry as the last time I ate was yesterday (Tuesday). One can only imagine how the elderly, sick and immobile are coping with the MCO,” said Fadzil, 59, a former aircraft technician based at the Butterworth RMAF airbase.
A homeless woman, who identified herself only as Tan, said that despite the difficult times, she was grateful that there were kind hearted Malaysians who braved enforcement to get food and essentials to the homeless.
“My boyfriend and I have been on the streets for years and we’ve seen and been through a lot. But this (MCO) has been one of the most difficult periods we’ve ever encountered,” said the woman in her 50s.
“We are relieved that there are Malaysians, even among the enforcement officers, who help us. But we are no longer guaranteed food once or twice a day like before,” said Tan, who wore a face mask that was given to her by a passer-by.
Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the plan was to move the homeless to specially allocated premises.
“However, we had to postpone the operation as we were afraid those who are possibly Covid-19-positive might infect those already placed there earlier.
“A meeting will be held to ensure the homeless are taken care of and at the same time, all precautionary steps taken.”
He said the Kuala Lumpur mayor had proposed placing the homeless in temporary cabins and this would be considered so they could be sheltered and given health checks.