KOTA KINABALU: Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad wants action to be taken against parents of children found loitering and begging on the street of Kota Kinabalu.
Jainab said the street kids problem was a serious issue that must be dealt with effectively, not just for the sake of the image of the City but more importantly to ensure the children were taken care of and their rights to basic needs, such as education, were protected.
“When we carry out operation sagainst street kids, we are not out to hunt and arrest them, as they are just kids, rather we want to save them.
“There are many children who are left to fend for themselves, living in abandoned buildings with no water and electricity, and people are taking advantage of them,” she said.
Jainab said that not all street kids were homeless and without parents, nor were they all stateless and children of illegal immigrants.
Regardless of their status, children should be treated as children, with their rights respected and protected, she said, adding that no children should be left on the streets to beg for money and food.
“There were cases where the children have parents and the parents came to claim them after they were taken into custody. But after a while the kids ended up on the streets again. We will keep tab on cases like this and we should consider taking action against the parents,” she told reporters here on Thursday.
Jainab, who earlier led an early evening ‘Ops Kutu Rayau’ in the City Centre, said it was disheartening to see young children roaming the streets in dirty clothes and their parents or guardians were nowhere to seen.
Not all these children were on the streets to harass people and touristd for small change, some of them were simply loitering around because they did not have anywhere to go.
There were also some who were out looking for their missing siblings, as their parents could not care less to look for them, according to her.
“A few of the children we brought in tonight informed me that they were looking for their older brothers or sisters. One of them said he was searching for his mentally-ill brother because his mother told him to,” said Jainab.
She stressed that street kids were a complex problem that needed the attention, understanding and cooperation of all parties to solve, and suggested a dedicated committee be assigned to lead and coordinate the effort.
He called on the public to assist the authorities by reporting any information on street kids or if they suspected any children living on their own without proper care from qualified guardians.
She also reminded the people not give money to children on the streets as this would only encourage more of them to become beggars.
Instead, she said the public should contact or hand the children to relevant authorities, such as the City Hall or her ministry.
“We are naturally good people and we pity these children, so we want to help them by giving them money or food. What many of us don’t realize is that we are not helping them for the long run and we could be making the situation worse by encouraging them to beg,” she said.
Eleven young boys and two girls were rounded up during the integrated operation carried out in several hot spots and brought back to the City Hall headquarters for screening.
The team, which comprised some 160 officers and personnel from the City Hall, Welfare Department, Police, RELA and National Anti-Drugs Agency also took in 11 adult men and six women suspected to be homeless.
Two of the adult were mentally ill.
A family with two toddlers aged one and two was also brought in after they were found living under a bridge at Tanjung Lipat.
Jainab said all of them, including the children were screened for drugs and their nationality would be determined before they were placed at suitable welfare homes.
She said the local children would be sent to a home in Beringis while non-Malaysian to Rumah Perlindungan Ehsan and those with mental illness would be placed at another shelter in Menggatal.
She also informed that several NGOs had communicated their willingness to help in dealing with the street children, including in educational aspects.
Discussions were also taking place on possibilities to provide a centre for the children, where they can be cared for and given proper education, she added.