KUALA LUMPUR: The temporary shelter for the homeless at Lorong Medan Tuanku 2 began operating today, said Federal Territories Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Adnan Md Ikhsan.
He said the shelter will be opened to serve 1,850 homeless in the city.
"The operators of the shelter are Pertiwi Soup Kitchen, Kenchara Soup Kitchen Society, Need to Feed The Needy, and Kaseh4U," he said during a visit to the shelter, here.
Adnan said the shelter provides medical room, toilet, space for meals and rooms.
He said the shelter was built using the Industrialised Building System (IBS) beginning May this year by a company from China.
"We have also asked City Hall to build a permanent building for the non-governmental organisations to distribute food and other services to the homeless," he said.
Adnan said, at the moment, City Hall was planning to build another homeless shelter at Bulatan Pahang.
"The three-storey building costing RM10 million can hold an estimated 250 homeless," he said.
Adnan said the ministry was planning to coordinate with a number of agencies to establish a committee to ensure the shelters were run smoothly.
"We will combine various agencies such as City Hall, the Health Ministry, Yayasan Kebajikan Negara and volunteer organisations in order to ensure the smooth operations of the shelters," he said.
Also present at the visit were City Hall Project Implementation and Maintenance executive director Datuk Tan Keng Chok, Federal Territories Ministry Policy Planning Division undersecretary Datuk Azizi Ahmad Termizi, Pertiwi Soup Kitchen chairman Munirah Abdul Hamid and Kenchara Soup Kitchen Society project director Justin Cheah.