KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Territories Ministry will collect data on over 500 homeless people throughout the duration of the Movement Control Order (MCO), to make it easier for the government to assist them.
Its minister, Tan Sri Annuar Musa said to date, 507 homeless individuals were housed in five Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) community centres and multipurpose halls in Sentul, Ampang, Setiawangsa, Alam Damai and Kepong.
Annuar said that when he paid a visit yesterday to the Sentul Perdana Community Centre where 199 homeless people were housed, he found that some of them had no identification documents.
“They claimed that they had no money to apply for identity cards at the National Registration Department, which makes it hard for them to get government assistance.
“So we will make an effort to collect their personal data to enable them to apply for assistance such as Bantuan Sara Hidup (cost of living aid) and Bantuan Prihatin Nasional, and we will trace their family members and relatives. Their problems should not be left unattended for long,” he said in a live broadcast via Facebook here today.
Annuar said DBKL would also improve the amenities and supplies at the community centres, such as cubicles and blankets for women with little children, as they did not have privacy and were currently sleeping in the open.
Meanwhile, on Covid-19 positive cases recorded in Kuala Lumpur up to yesterday, he said there were 316 cases in the Seputeh parliamentary constituency, while there were 60 in Segambut, Bukit Bintang (45), Lembah Pantai (27), Batu (26) and Kepong (12).
“Seputeh has a large number of cases because most of them are related to the Masjid Jamek Seri Petaling cluster which is located in that constituency,” he explained.
The minister added that personnel from the police, military, People’s Volunteer Corps (RELA) and DBKL totalling 51 members, had been stationed at the Menara City One condominium tower on Jalan Munshi Abdullah throughout the duration of the enhanced MCO imposed on the building and its occupants.
He also advised media practitioners who covered the area to ensure they adhered to social distancing, as it was found that many journalists had failed to do so while carrying out their duties. -- BERNAMA