WHEN night falls, the pavements around Central Market in Kuala Lumpur become home to the homeless, a place for them to rest and chat with one another. 

Many of them are elderly, and hang out on the sidewalks in the daytime, as The Malaysian Insight witnessed in a check there during the day recently. 

Those who spoke to The Malaysian Insight said they were unmarried or had no children. 

One 80-year-old man said he was on the streets to pass time. 

“I was born in Negri Sembilan but I left home to work in my teens,” he said, adding that he used to work in construction. 

“I’ve lived around Central Market even before Covid-19. Recently the authorities arrested a lot of people, so there are fewer of us now.” 

Unmarried and without any family members, the man insisted he was not actually homeless, but rents a room nearby and chooses to hang out near Central Market during the day. 

Asked how he could afford to rent a room without a job, he merely said “it’s a secret”. 

Two women, one in her 70s and another in her 80s, said they each had homes, but came to Central Market daily for the free food distributed by charity groups. 

The 80-year-old said she scavenged for items to sell for money to pay rent. 

The 70-year-old woman said she lived in Serdang with her children but felt bored at home.

To pass time, she takes the bus to Central Market daily to meet friends and wait for the free meals handed out by civil society groups. 

A trader who operates a stall at Central Market said that the number of homeless in the area has recently gone up. 

“Maybe it’s because the economy is bad,” said the man who wished to remain anonymous. 

“They include young people. They go to work during the day and come back here to sleep at night.” 

He estimated that there are about 100 homeless people sleeping around Central Market, making beds of cardboard on five-foot ways in front of shops and on the cemented banks of the river by the famous market.  

Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun’s aide Eric Teh said it can be hard to ascertain the truth of what people on the streets say. 

“They each have different problems. Some may have had homes but were influenced by their friends to rent it out and live on the streets instead. 

“Others choose to be homeless because they don’t want to burden their children in their old age. There are a myriad of reasons.” 

In recent months, the number of homeless people has increased, Teh said. They include young adults, some as young as 20 years’ old. 

“Some may be from out of town and they come to the city centre to work. 

“As rent is expensive, they sleep on the streets and find a place to freshen up in the morning before going to work. 

“I’ve even seen a couple sleeping on the pavement while hugging their laptops,” Teh said. – June 26, 2022.