Kota Kinabalu: Member of Parliament Chan Foong said there should be no further delay in taking street children off the roads and placing them in temporary protection shelters as failure risks eroding the public’s confidence in the Sabah Unity Government.
He said Assistant Minister to Chief Minister Datuk Abidin Madingkir, the Minister in charge of Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK), had announced on Jan. 31 that the shelter for street children is ready in Kota Kinabalu.
“However, it has been a whole week and the street children continue with their shenanigans on the busy streets in the city centre, knocking on car windows and frightening road users without any heed for their own personal safety. Chan
“Despite being occupied with work in Putrajaya, I have taken time off to follow up on the issue with DBKK, the police and Abidin. Abidin informed me that the matter is under the purview of Datuk James Ratib, the new Minister of Community Development and People’s Wellbeing of Sabah.
“I then contacted James who informed me that they are taking action to procure food for the children, these street children can then be brought into the shelter soon,” he said, Tuesday.
James had said that temporary protection shelters (PPS) and the budget had been allocated to house street children in Tawau, Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu.
He said the number of people rescued in KK as recorded by the Sabah Welfare Services Department (JPKA) was 165, adding it could reach thousands statewide.
Many of these children who beg on the streets in the city centre are an eyesore and bad for tourism.
He is also confident that the Bumiputera Agenda Leadership Unit (Teraju) has no problem in providing cooperation in the state’s efforts to solve the issue in Sabah since the body is under the Prime Minister’s Department (JPM) and has a grant.
Pix show a street kid nearly being run over after clinging to a vehicle and falling as it moved on in a video clip that went viral on Monday. The 38-second video clip recorded from a side view mirror.
There were concerns expressed whether local authorities like City Hall would be held liable for anything untoward happening since the relevant authorities are actually aware of the longstanding problem.
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