AN evening stroll around Jalan Pasar or Jalan Sultan in Kuala Lumpur showed that for the homeless, Chinese New Year is not a time of happiness and family bonding. There also isn’t much food, much less feasts.

For these people, this special time of the year is not much different any other time. 

Tam Ah Hua was sitting on the ramp at the open car park underneath the Jalan Yew flyover. He was looking to earn some money as the “parking attendant”.

He said he could earn up to RM30 a day doing this.

“Big cars or lorries give me RM5. I spend the money on food and other basic needs,” he said.

Tam left Taiping three years ago when his wife died. He did not have a specific destination in mind and upon finding himself in Pudu, he decided to stay there.

Back in Taiping, Tam was a contractor before he suffered a stroke that left his leg semi-paralysed.

He was wearing torn shorts and had a small handphone of a near obsolete model hand. He checked it every few seconds but did not say if he was expecting a call or a message.

“I have two daughters but they do not care about me. So I left,” he said.

“I think they didn’t want me after my wife passed away. I fought with my daughters a lot. I decided to leave because I thought that was the best thing to do.”

He said this Chinese New Year would be no different from the last two years’.

“I don’t have a family, my daughters won’t look for me. So I work and celebrate here,” he said with a laugh.

A number of homeless individuals have made the open car park their home. Besides Tam, there were about 10 others sleeping on cardboard boxes near a pile of trash.

Lon Chiong Chin, 69, was sitting in front of the public toilet watching the world go by. His cardboard boxes were neatly folded behind his chair.

He said he could not work at the car park as his legs are weak.

“It’s difficult for me here. I can’t earn money like the others,” he said.

Lon ran away from home when was 15. He said he didn’t want to be with his family and thought the feeling was mutual.

“I am originally from Chow Kit. I have moved around the city centre a lot and now I am in Pudu.”

He has been in Pudu for eight years now.

“The people here are nice and the vendors often give me food.”

He did odd jobs to support himself when he was younger but he is now incapable of working.

He said the authorities had once taken away his belongings. He was baffled but thought they must have had a reason for taking his things.

“Chinese New Year has been the same for me for almost a decade. Just waiting and hoping for food from the public.”

Hotel Pudu Plaza is also a favourite spot for the homeless. Some of them take shelter at the basement of the complex.

Keong used to work as a food vendor near the plaza but had to quit when he grew old.

The 70-year-old has no family and rented a small room in Pudu while he was working. The rent is RM150 a month.

As he has no income now, Keong said the co-tenant pays for him.

“I can’t work but my co-tenant understands and allows me to stay,” he said.

Keong said the police often approach him when he is at the plaza but they never harass him.

Asked what are his Chinese New Year plans, Keong said he will be waiting at the same spot for food.

“I don’t celebrate it anymore. I just wait here because every day is the same for me,” he said with a smile. – February 9, 2019.