2007 04: No power to keep kids away

NST online. Local News. 13/04/07

THE Welfare Department’s hands are tied when it comes to street children, said its Johor Baru duty officer, Manayi Ibrahim.

There are no provisions under the Child Act 2001 which allow the department to take action against them.

"We can only pick them up if they are abandoned by their families or if they are caught begging.

"We have conducted several joint operations, codenamed Ops Sepadu, with the municipal council and police to clean up Johor Baru and to eradicate the problem of beggars.

"During these operations, we picked up several minors, We held them for a while but attempts to contact their families proved futile."

After counselling them, we had to let them go," he said on Wednesday.

The department was aware of the group of youngsters who have made Jalan Wong Ah Fook their home, but there are no provisions under the law to get them off the streets.

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Street children rounded up
NST online. Local News. 23/05/07

JOHOR BARU: For many weeks, street children, who have been a constant feature along the tourist strip of Jalan Wong Ah Fook, have disappeared.

Checks revealed that the five minors interviewed by the New Straits Times on April 11, were picked up by the Johor Welfare Department three days after the article was published.

Department director Kasim Yunus said the boys’ particulars were taken down and after attempts to contact their parents failed, were taken to their homes.

"We advised them not to loiter and go back to school."We have taken appropriate measures to ensure that they stay in school," Kasim said when met at the Children Protection Centre here yesterday.