It’s a perennial problem, says MCA adviser

MALACCA: The foreign beggar issue has been a bane for Jonker Walk for some time now and little has been done to get rid of them.

State MCA adviser and former Jonker Walk adviser Datuk Wira Gan Tian Loo said that the traders had brought the matter up with him when he was chairman of the committee.

“We knew about the presence of these beggars but due to humanitarian grounds, we did not chase them away.

“If I had known that a criminal gang was behind these beggars, I would have barred them from entering Jonker Walk a long time ago,” he said.

Gan said the only way to stop this gang was through public awareness to discourage people from giving them alms.

He said Malacca only sees beggars from China and some local vagrants but hardly any Rohinygas like in Kuala Lumpur.

Malacca Welfare Department’s director Burhanuddin Bachik said the issue of foreign beggars comes under Section 3(1) of the Destitute Persons Act 1977.

He said foreigners caught begging would be referred to the Immigration Department.

“We are still continuing with our checks on foreign beggars at tourist hotspots here and would refer them to Immigration if they are found,” he said.