KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 — Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has rounded up 140 homeless people found wandering in the city in efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19 during the on-going movement control order (MCO).

Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Mahadi Che Ngah said the homeless were being placed at the temporary shelters in Sentul Perdana and Setiawangsa here, until the end of February before being taken to the Homeless Transformation Centre in Taman Desa (formerly Desa Water Park) in early March where they would be assisted in looking for a job.

"Here, they will be given skills training to prepare them for permanent employment  to earn a living. The courses planned include basic skills for urban agricultural projects and other suitable skills,” he said in a statement today.

Last night, Mahadi participated in an integrated operation involving 95 personnel from the police, the Social Welfare Department, Health Ministry and the Immigration Department.

Meanwhile Mahadi said DBKL was looking into a comprehensive solution to tackle the problem of homelessness, apart from providing them with shelter.

"We are looking into a more structured programme to facilitate management in terms of food distribution to this group by non-governmental organisations or private parties. 

"It is not appropriate to go on with the current food distribution system in the city centre because besides the traffic congestion it leaves a negative impact on municipal management,” he said. — Bernama