AHMAD Daniel Al Hafiz had envisioned a future of great potential when he came to study at Universiti Malaya in 2009 but life took an unexpected turn when shortly after graduation, the Sarawakian found himself jobless and homeless.

Daniel said a series of personal issues left him broken and he found himself wandering the streets of Kuala Lumpur during the day, and sleeping at the Kuala Lumpur bus terminal (TBS) at night.

“I ended up there, as I was broke. I could not find any job, so I lived off whatever I could get from the stall operators at the terminal. Some gave me food while others money for the work I did,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

After about three months, he hit rock bottom when the authorities forced him to leave TBS. But it was then that Daniel said a Muslim preacher advised him to seek help at the Jalan Pahang transit home for the homeless.

“He introduced me to the transit house at Jalan Pahang. That was when my life turned around,” he said.

The home helped by providing him with emotional support and then matched him with employers.

Daniel now works as an assistant manager at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur and is set to get married next year. He has also bought an apartment in Sentul.

His story is just one of more than 1,000 cases handled by the Jalan Pahang home, which has helped to take some 2,000 people off the streets of Kuala Lumpur.

The transit home’s executive officer, Amirrudin Abdul Rahman, 38, said the centre was set up by City Hall two years ago to rehabilitate the homeless and help them assimilate back into society.

Most of the homeless who came to the home were referred by civil society groups or came to the place after being told about it, Amirrudin said.

“Nobody wants to be on the streets forever. It’s easier to help those who want to be helped and looking for a way out of the streets,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Challenging cases

Amirruddin said despite its success, some of the homeless were hard to rehabilitate, namely addicts and those with attitude problems.

“These are repeat offenders. We are very strict about drugs here.

“They get sober for a couple of months and then they go back to their old habits, it’s difficult for them to control their addiction.”

The 24-hour facility located at the corner of the Jalan Pahang roundabout can accommodate up to 200 at any one time. The homeless are allowed to stay for a month, during which time they should have been found jobs or moved home.

However, the management holds the discretion to extend the stay of some, based on their circumstances.

“For some cases, we allow them to stay longer but we usually try to get them back into society as soon as possible,” said Amirrudin, adding that there are currently 149 occupants from Selangor and the outskirts of the city.

The centre has 200 beds, 10 toilets and a surau. The occupants are provided meals and toiletries.

The transit home also provides counselling and job-matching programmes with companies like Job Street and organisations looking to hire suitable candidates.

Amirrudin said there are few factors leading to homelessness.

“The more common ones are they lost their jobs, ran away from home or were drug addicts.”

The centre also receives about 10% to 15 % homeless people from Sabah and Sarawak cheated by agents promising jobs in the city.

“We get them coming to the centre about three times a year. The agent promises them jobs but ditch them when they arrive here. We get about 30 cases a year.”

The halfway home also receives sexually abused, pregnant or runaway women, who are referred to other transit and rehabilitation centres.

“We keep them here for a day or two and then refer them to the relevant agencies that can help them out.”

Amirruddin said the centre is open to all and welcomes organisations to refer the homeless there to get the assistance they need. – December 18, 2018.