File photo of a beggar on the streets.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development has stopped giving a disability allowance to a recipient who was found engaged in begging activities but owns a Proton X70 Premium.
Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad said the ministry had not only stopped giving the man the RM450 monthly allowance from this month, it had also demanded that he sign a letter of undertaking to stop begging.
"Further investigation found that he is employed as a shift supervisor in a bus company, earning around RM2,000 per month. Hence, this individual is no longer eligible for welfare assistance from the social welfare department," she said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
(The Premium variants of the X70 starts from RM110,800.)
Noraini was responding to a supplementary question from Mohd Sany Hamzan (PH-Hulu Langat) who wanted to know what her ministry and the social welfare department are doing to stop the man from abusing the social aid.
The man, who has disabilities in both hands, was reported to earn up to RM500 within five hours from public donations at a night market before the Maran social welfare department exposed him in February.
On the ministry’s long-term measures to address the issue of the destitute and homeless people, Noraini said it is reviewing the Destitute Persons Act, 1977.
"The ministry will use this study’s findings as a basis to decide on how to resolve the problem."
In the interim, she said the ministry is conducting ad-hoc, scheduled and periodic operations in hotspot areas such as the Kuala Lumpur city centre.
Noraini pointed out that the solution to the issue requires co-operation between the ministry and many quarters including state governments, local authorities and the public.
