ISSN 2477-0531 Asian Journal for Poverty Studies 1(1): 26 — 29 26 HOMELESSNESS IN MALAYSIA: VICTIMS OF CIRCUMSTANCE OR BY CHOICE? Wee Yu Ghee 1* and Raja Norliana Binti Raja Omar 1 1 Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Locked Bag 36, Pengkalan Chepa, 16100 Kota Bharu, Kelantan Corresponding Author: yughee@umk.edu.my ABSTRACT This paper discusses the issues of homelessness in Malaysia, what constitutes and causes homelessness in Malaysia and how the society and government can help this marginalised group, according to public opinion. There is no official statistics showing the number of homeless in the city as only a few non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are aware of their existence. Needless to mention, the reasons why they end up sleeping on the streets. Homelessness affects thousands across Malaysia – people from all ethnicities, age groups, education levels, and geographic regions. Despite the pervasiveness of homelessness, people who are homeless are typically blamed for their homelessness. The media and public perpetuate myths of homeless women and men as "lazy", unmotivated people prone to making poor choices or as deviants who care nothing of the society or "being a burden". Observations, interviews and discussions were conducted among urban citizens. Data collected include their opinions, awareness and perceptions on the homeless in the country and various assistance currently available. Findings show not many are aware of the state of the homeless in the country. However, majority are concerned and willing to help through donations, food distribution, and creations of job and social services programs organized by the government or NGOs. Keywords: homelessness, Malaysia, society, government. INTRODUCTION In Malaysia, there is no official definition of homelessness. Affairs of the homeless are lumped under the category of displaced and marginalised groups which fall under the broader umbrella of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (MWFCD) with enforcement duty mandated to the Social Welfare Department (SWD). Currently running of MWFCD is guided by four major policies, the National Social Policy, National Policy on Women, National Policy for the Elderly, and National Social Welfare Policy. None of the policies have direct bearing to houseless and homeless persons implying that thus far this type of marginalised group have not been receiving much attention (Alhabshi and Abdul Manan, 2012). Thus, homelessness may be defined in many ways, but is generally understood as the state of not having shelter, or a regular private space for sleeping, washing, and otherwise conducting one’s day -to-day life. People experiencing homelessness often have little choice but to live or spend most of their time in public spaces, such as in parks and on the streets. This is the most visible form of homelessness, and one can often see in Kuala Lumpur. Some people have experienced homelessness for years or months, while some people have only recently become homeless (Food not Bombs, 2014). Homelessness has roots in poverty and social exclusion. People become homeless for many reasons. Some become homeless after retirement of loss of a job. Some people have injuries, illnesses, or disabilities that make it hard to earn an income. Some people become homeless as a result of debt and/or financial or legal trouble. Some people face barriers to adequate employment because of incarceration history, limited literacy, or discrimination (such as against LGBTs, rural-urban migrants, or other marginalized groups). Some people struggle with addictions that make it hard to maintain personal health and financial well-being. Some people become homeless as a result of domestic abuse, depression, or personal trauma. Hence, some views that homeless people are criminals or unfit for work or purely lazy needs to be corrected (Indramalar, 2014)