More than 250 people lining up for food distributed by NGO Pertiwi Soup Kitchen last night was just one proof that soup kitchens are still relevant to Kuala Lumpur, despite the government's move this week to rid the city centre of them.

Malaysiakini went down to Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman last night where volunteers were distributing rice, fruits, buns and drinks to the homeless and destitute at the venue next to Tune Hotel.

The crowd was orderly, although a slight commotion occured when volunteers reprimanded media personnel present from using flashlight photography.

It would be a typical night at the soup kitchen, bringing relief to the homeless, except for the arrival of opposition MPs that hyped up the affair.

Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar ( left in photo ), after helping to distribute food to the poor, told reporters that the policymakers must understand how it is to live without food and shelter.

“I invited (Federal Territories Minister) Tengku Adnan to join us tonight, but he said he’s in Labuan,” Nurul Izzah said.

She said it was important for MPs to engage with experts on the situation, such as Pertiwi, since they are the ones who help alleviate the misery of the homeless.

DAP to offer legal aid

Seputeh MP Teresa Kok meanwhile confessed that it is her first time engaging in such an activity.

Kok slammed Tengku Adnan for only offering, after coming under heavy fire, to set up one-stop centres for the homeless.

“Why is he only announcing this now, why didn’t he announce this earlier?

"He probably announced it after all the criticisms,” said the DAP leader.

Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng meanwhile questioned which legal provision the ministry intended to use to punish the homeless and the destitute.

“DAP has set up a team of lawyers to assist those who are caught giving or receiving donations, come Monday,” he said.

Tengku Adnan has received heavy criticism for asking soup kitchens providing food for the homeless to move out from a 2km radius of the city centre by Monday.

The minister, widely referred to as Ku Nan, responded yesterday that he did not consider his actions to be harsh but instead necessary to create a “ disciplined society ”.

“This activity just encourages people to remain homeless and jobless. There have been many such people whom we have found jobs for, who returned to that life because they said it is easier,” Tengku Adnan was reported as saying.

A Pertiwi volunteer named Karl said although he understood that the minister's intentions might be good, he did not see the problem in soup kitchens distributing food to the poor.

“It is not like we don’t clean up after we distribute the food,” said Karl, who became a volunteer in January.

Pertiwi, launched by former Federal Territories Minister Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin in 2010, distributes food to the homeless four times a week.

Besides feeding the hungry, the NGO also provides clothing and offers medical assistance.

'No job opportunities'

Meanwhile, despite the impending clean-up, a homeless man named Ghashar, 45, said he is adamant to stay put in the area.

Ghashar who has been homeless for 26 years, said work opportunities were near to non-existent for him.

For example, he said even for a job of security guard, prospective employers prefer to employ foreigners.

“I want to work, but they (employers) prefer to take Nepalese,” Ghashar said.

On being homeless, he said, “No one is happy living on pavements. But what can I do?”

Kanan, 38, said that other than having to endure "harassment" by the Kuala Lumpur City Council (DBKL) officers at night, vagrants also have to face insults thrown at them by the people.

“People only know how to insult us, but they don’t offer to help,” Kanan said.