Temporary shelter for street children
KOTA KINABALU: The State government will create a temporary shelter in selected districts in the State for street children in Sabah.
Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Abidin Madingkir said a pilot project will be implemented in Kota Kinabalu where the State government has identified an unused government house for sheltering these children. An immediate allocation of RM250,000 has been provided to renovate the house, and the shelter is expected to be operational by the end of this year.
He said the initiative will target children from the Palauh tribe, an undocumented community group that traditionally inhabits coastal areas and islands in Sabah’s east coast, as they are the majority group that wanders around in crowded areas and begs.
Abidin clarified that according to statistics, there are 1,327 Palauh people living in 228 houses in Pulau Gaya but the pilot project will only focus on Palauh children roaming the streets of Kota Kinabalu.
“The children will be rescued during scheduled operations by the local authorities (PBT), and then sent to the shelter for a maximum period of up to three months. The shelter will provide special programs to teach them self-management skills, how to live in a community, and informal spiritual learning. When the three-month period ends, these children will be returned to their parents or guardians.
“Before their guardians can bring the children home, they are required to go through a behavioural warning and prohibition process to deter them from repeating the same mistakes,” he said when responding to a question by Luyang assemblyman Phoong Jin Zhe during question time at the State Legislative Assembly sitting here on Monday.
Abidin said the shelter will be supervised by the State Government through the State Home Affairs and Research Office (HDENP) and Welfare Services Centre, assisted by PBT, while Rela will take responsibility for safety at the shelter by providing 24-hour surveillance, adding that the Health Department will be in charge of conducting pre-entry inspections as well as addressing any health issues.
He explained that the implementation of this initiative is in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (Geneva), which emphasizes children’s rights to obtain protection from any dangerous situations including possible exploitation of children, as well as the Children’s Act of 2001: Article 17 (k) (i) and (ii), which mentions the prohibition of children engaging with activities of asking for alms or begging as well as activities that are harmful to their health or welfare.
The children will be rescued during scheduled operations by the local authorities (PBT), and then sent to the shelter for a maximum period of up to three months.
Datuk Abidin Madingkir
Abidin, when responding to a question by Sindumin assemblyman Datuk Yusof bin Yacob, said the community also needs to play its part in tackling the issue of street children selling food and other goods, and offering ‘butler’ services where they help take groceries to people’s cars in exchange for a fee.
“What is being done by these Palauh children tarnishes the image of Sabah in the eyes of tourists. I was informed by PBT that they seize the food and goods that these children are selling. However, the community also needs to do its part by not buying anything that these children sell or taking up their ‘butler’ services to discourage them from continuing their actions,” he said.
Abidin added that the City Hall (DBKK) and local authorities will continue to collaborate and carry out integrated operations with related agencies such as the General Welfare Services Department, Royal Malaysian Police, Immigration Department, National Security Council to combat this issue.
“Despite being the first agency people point their fingers to when it comes to the issue of begging children, the City Hall have been doing their part in combating this problem. Whenever there are any children beggars at traffic lights, DBKK will chase them away. Those that refuse will be taken to the DBKK office for further action.
“We have to keep in mind that these are children. We cannot imprison them as it is against humanitarian grounds to do so. For everyone’s information, funds have also been collected to feed these children who are brought to the DBKK office while waiting for the guardians to take them home,” he said.