Saturday, 21st of May 2011 was Disaster Day for the Hidayah Madrasah Al-Taqwa Orphanage it Hulu Langat Kampong Gahal. The orphanage which housed 44 children aged 7 to 18 and 5 caretakers, experienced a landslide in which 16 people, 2 caretakers and 14 children, lost their lives. The orphanage is not registered under the Care Centres Act 1993 with the Community Welfare Department.
Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Women, Family and Community Development Minister, said the ministry would look into the matter of tightening policies on unregistered welfare homes.
This will be a mammoth task. The Selangor Times of May 27 – 29, 2011 reports the alarming condition concerning welfare homes in that state.
Shah Alam: An alarming nine in 10 welfare homes in Selangor are operating illegally. The state has ordered all licensing authorities to act now before another tragedy recurs.
Only 82 out of the 865 welfare homes – both charity- and profit-based – are officially registered with the Social Welfare Department and local authorities.
“Most of these unlicensed homes are owned by private operators,” said Rodziah Ismail.
The executive councillor, whose portfolio includes welfare, gave the figures in response to the deaths of 16 people in a landslide at the unlicensed Hidayah Madrasah Al-Taqwa orphanage last Saturday.
Its Hulu Langat premises, built on agriculture land, did not comply with guidelines, being located next to a hill with an 80-degree slope.
Rodziah pointed out that more than a quarter of the 783 unlicensed homes are located in Hulu Langat.
Petaling, Gombak, Klang and Subang Jaya also have more than 100 unlicensed welfare homes each, according to statistics re-leased by the Selangor Social Welfare Department.
These homes are not only housing children, but also offer shelter to senior citizens, disabled people and single women.
Rodziah said the state had instructed the 12 local authorities to conduct a comprehensive survey to locate other unlicensed charity homes in their areas within the next three months.
“We want to make sure these shelters are safe. [Not just in terms] of their buildings and facilities, but also to make sure that they have trained professionals to take proper care of the children or senior citizens to prevent abuse,” she said.
The above situation refers solely to the state of Selangor, who should be congratulated on the action which they are taking. But this is just a tip of the iceberg – there must be thousands of illegal welfare homes in the rest of Malaysia.
How can we deal with this situation?
The Micah Mandate is a Christian-based public interest advocacy ministry that seeks a transformation of our nation through justice, mercy and humility.
