Malacca bans soliciting and begging from public

Strictly no peddling: Salesmen who go around selling knick-knacks can now be punished in Malacca.

MALACCA: Malacca has imposed a state-wide ban on soliciting and begging from the public.

The immediate ban also includes those who go around peddling items and knickknacks in the name of charity and religious bodies.

Those caught doing so can now be punished.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron said existing laws under the Local Government, Welfare Department and state Islamic Affairs Department’s enactment will be used to take those begging on the streets to court.

Idris said yesterday that the state Welfare Department had a database on those receiving the monthly financial aid, and those soliciting donations on the streets are considered illegal.

“Those without a steady income are given monthly aid, so we feel there is no need for any one to turn to begging. We also want to rid the state of those who solicit money from the public by peddling items or religious paraphernalia in the name of charity or religion,” he said.

The warning, he said, also covers foreigners who beg or peddle knick-knacks, suppo­sedly for charity.

He added that the state is aware of syndicates exploiting children by asking them to solicit funds from the public, including at tourist hotspots.

Idris said there were also complaints of children being used to force people to purchase holy books outside of banks, restaurants and other busy areas.

He said the state government has asked the Home Ministry for help to arrest the culprits and produce them in court.

Enforcement officers in the state Islamic Affairs departments will also be on the lookout for those who go around peddling religious items, he said.

Idris said the law also covers those using children to sell items, supposedly for funding charitable organisations.

“We have reports that money collected by these children is deposited into accounts of individuals believed to be masterminds of syndicates,” he said.