THE Penang government intends to utilise an open hall in the Sia Boey Urban Archaeological Park as a hub to distribute food to the homeless in town.
State Environment and Welfare Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh noted the importance of serving meals to the underprivileged group in a proper environment.
“As of now, several non-governmental organisations (NGOs), good Samaritans and members of the public are giving away food to the homeless in Komtar bus stop in an unsystematic manner.
“You can see many of them queuing along the roadside to receive food from the group of NGOs daily.
“In fact, we could also see that several NGOs have even given away food to the same people in a day. This has led to the wastage of food as some vagrants have even left packets of food along the streets.
“This act is an eyesore while it is unhygienic to have their meals along the roadside.
“We are now in the midst of discussion with the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and Penang Development Corporation (PDC) to get their nod to use the place in Sia Boey Urban Archaeological Park,” he told Buletin Mutiara in an exclusive interview recently.
Phee, nevertheless, expressed his appreciation to the NGOs for giving out food to the homeless.
He, however, called them to take turns to provide food to them to avoid food waste.
“We hope those NGOs who wish to provide food to homeless can register themselves with the state Welfare Department. The Mutiara Food Bank will step in if no NGOs step in to provide food on the day itself,” he said.
At the same time, the homeless, who want to receive food, need to register themselves as well.
“We want to document their presence in the state as our data has not been updated for the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said, adding that the state has also assisted them by ensuring shelters were given to them.
Phee said he hoped the homeless transit centre in Jalan C.Y. Choy could begin operation by next month.
“The homeless can enjoy the health screening service which will be carried out in the centre,” he said.
On the trishaw riders in the state, Phee said MBPP and the state government have been helping them.
MBPP, he said, has rented two units of houses to provide accommodation for those riders without a roof over their head, while the state government has continued to give out allowances every two weeks to the riders affected by the pandemic.
Story by Edmund Lee
Pix by Law Suun Ting