Cracking down on vagrant trouble in KL

Homeless people being picked up from the streets in Kuala Lumpur during a joint operationin December..

KUALA Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is working with building owners to identify hotspots where the homeless congregate so they can be rounded up and sent to a shelter.

Mayor Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngah said the operations to get the vagrants off the streets were being carried out on a weekly basis.

“We are cooperating with building owners to find out where the homeless usually gather.

“We will relocate the vagrants to the Anjung Kelana homeless shelter in Taman Desa.

“There is also a feeding centre in Medan Tuanku that distributes packed meals twice daily to keep the homeless from spreading out all over the city,” he said.

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The mayor was responding to claims that the homeless had been vandalising public property and dirtying parts of the city.

He was speaking after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Think City, a subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, at the Kuala Lumpur Tourism Bureau in Jalan Tangsi, Kuala Lumpur.

Think City managing director Hamdan Abdul Majeed said the MOU was a continuation of its strategic partnership which began eight years ago.

“Within that period, we worked closely with DBKL to improve the physical aspects of the city with the aim of making it a vibrant hub for both locals and tourists.

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“Moving forward, we plan to rejuvenate heritage buildings and introduce cultural events to inject more life and colour into the capital,” he said.

DBKL and Think City have embarked on various placemaking initiatives to enliven the capital as part of the Kuala Lumpur Creative and Cultural District Blueprint.

Last year, “Pentas Seni Merdeka”, a monthly cultural event featuring traditional performances in Dataran Merdeka was organised.

In 2017, they launched a programme to transform selected back lanes and alleys into clean, safe and functional spaces.

The project, however, met with obstacles due to the homeless who were occupying the back lanes.

On a related matter, Mahadi said Think City would be roped in to upgrade the shared facilities at public housing projects.

“Think City has the expertise to look into the beautification, cleanliness and maintenance aspects of these housing schemes,” he noted.

Also present at the MOU signing were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s political secretary Azman Abidin and Think City partnerships and creative sector senior director Izan Satrina Mohd Sallehuddin.