KOTA KINABALU: A power struggle in Sabah think tank Institute for Development Studies (IDS) may soon test Chief Minister Shafie Apdal’s stand on how he wants the organisation to be run.

FMT understands that one camp in the IDS board of directors sides with chairman Simon Sipaun. This faction includes former CEO Hasnol Ayub.

The other camp, meanwhile, supports the embattled CEO Johan Ariffin, whose appointment was reportedly rejected at a board meeting last Wednesday.

According to a board member, the vote was initially tied at five for and five against, but that Sipaun cast his ballot against the motion, essentially revoking Johan’s appointment.

Some of the directors were said to be unhappy as they see Sipaun as under the influence of Hasnol, who is the nephew of former chief minister Musa Aman.

Sipaun, in the meeting, alleged that Johan had spent RM200,000 within just a few days of being in office. He said Johan had also spent on other things which he labelled unnecessary.

When contacted, Johan confirmed the incident but said the battle would continue as he has received a directive from Shafie to continue in his post.

“The chairman (Sipaun) is ignoring the chief minister’s directive to keep me as CEO of IDS. I met the chief minister yesterday and he said to continue but Sipaun sent a letter of dismissal,” he said in a WhatsApp message to FMT.

Johan claimed Hasnol is in the picture as well, even though he said Shafie had wanted him dropped as director for some time now.

He added that he would only follow the instructions given by the chief minister and accused Sipaun’s team of carrying out “a hostile takeover” by taking back his car, among others.

“By right, according to my contract, they should give me notice,” he said.

On Sipaun’s claim that he had spent RM200,000 within his first few days in office, Johan said the chairman had no evidence of this or any other accusation against him.

He added that the situation was strange as Sipaun had wanted him as CEO in the first place, and the chief minister had selected him from the list of candidates.

Sipaun, meanwhile, told FMT that the move not to confirm Johan’s appointment had been a board decision. He added that the former Yayasan Sabah group director was only on probation, having been appointed to the post in December last year.

“He was on a six-month probation expiring on May 31. The board of directors met on Wednesday and decided not to confirm him. His last day of service was May 31,” he said.

When told that Johan had claimed the support of the chief minister in the matter, Sipaun said that was his version of the story.

“The chief minister has not said anything to me so far. The board of directors’ decision is one thing. The chief minister’s blessing is another.”

He also said that Hasnol was on the board as he was elected by the members, not appointed by the government.

He said Hasnol could only be removed at the annual general meeting and not through political interference.

Ramadan tends to be the time when we read more about people experiencing homelessness than at any other time of the year. That is because being homeless is so closely intertwined with the act of people giving them food (street feeding) and the associated food waste and garbage that is the typical aftermath when too much is given.

Responding to “Those who call the streets of Kuala Lumpur home”, I want to congratulate Prof Syed Omar for not giving money to a person experiencing homelessness, but instead, making the effort to dig deeper and interviewing them to unearth best international best practices on managing the homeless.

Think City is an urban regeneration think-and-do tank with a track record of developing innovative solutions based on data and community engagement. Operating in downtown Kuala Lumpur since 2015, there are few projects where businesses and residents do not raise the issue of homelessness.

As a result, Think City has undertaken collaborative research and engaged many NGOs and government organisations to identify new ways forward. Numbers at the annual count by DBKL change from year to year, but around 1,000 homeless people in 15 hotspots signal a rise in human insecurity. Their needs and welfare deserve to be considered alongside others as we work towards regenerating Malaysia’s inner cities.

Before planning any intervention, the goals need to be clear. Is it about (1) preventing homelessness (economic and social policies), (2) making it more bearable for those experiencing homelessness (providing food, medical services, shelters, clothing & grooming etc), or (3) supporting people to leave homelessness? While all three are required, in Malaysia the emphasis is on 1 and 2, with fewer organisations working towards the last one.

Looking outside of Malaysia for workable models, it becomes clear that research and data is mostly available from developed nations, with very little data and even fewer published interventions from other countries. Finland’s “Housing First” seems to be the programme many developed countries are now adopting. It is premised upon the approach that long-term housing has to be provided before addressing individual issues such as health, addictions, legal issues, family violence etc.

However, homelessness is not just a lack-of-housing problem, and Housing First has worked well where individualised “wrap around” services are provided. The whole programme is embedded in a national approach with roles for all sectors.

In 2018, Think City and 19 NGOs decided that we could collectively achieve more. With support from Community Solutions in the US, we trialled a registry week where 140 volunteers interviewed 245 people sleeping in downtown Kuala Lumpur to assess their vulnerability. The idea was that with limited resources, interventions should focus on those most at risk and vulnerable, rather than on those who are functioning well and are likely to find their own way out of homelessness. During the data collection at night, we were so humbled when homeless people we interviewed offered to escort us through the night and watch over us so we could concentrate on the interviewing.

What was missing in our registry week was the inability to refer homeless people straight to a service provider that meets their needs. For example, we met some very sick people, but there was no central register of government and NGO services. Our partner NGO Hub is now in the process of developing an easily accessible service register. We also wondered if we could develop a win-win solution for homeless people and local businesses.

In partnership with Yellow House, we are about to start supporting homeless people around the former Bangkok Bank building at Medan Pasar by providing casual employment to those who want to work by offering jobs lasting a few hours a day such as cleaning and other odd jobs. Given that the average length of homelessness is 10 years, for those on the streets for more than a year, starting with short-term work is expected to be more successful.

Thirdly, we could not find evidence of any developing country having trialled Housing First, so we have developed a detailed Housing First–Services First service model and are working towards its rollout.

On the matter of food distribution and waste, it is exciting to see that another group of NGOs has been working on developing a food rescue ecosystem to prevent wastage in order to pass it to those struggling to make ends meet. To reduce wastage while ensuring food safety, there needs to be drastic improvement in the coordination of handing out meals. To this end, fixed or set food distribution centres may be better than randomly handing out food in the streets.

Developing a shared vision and strategy across sectors would provide a framework where organisations can find their niche to contribute. In the meantime, Think City and partners will continue the initiatives they have started, and welcome all forms of support from other like-minded organisations or individuals.

Uta Dietrich is Think City’s senior programme manager.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 4 — About 1,150 parking lots have been made available for the public attending Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Aidilfitri Open House at the Seri Perdana Complex Precinct 10, Putrajaya, tomorrow.

Among the parking spaces provided are at the Putrajaya Lake Club, outside the Seri Perdana Complex and Puspanitapuri covering the entrance to the parking bays and front as well as basement parking lots.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim said the event would begin at 10am and was expected to end at 4.30pm tomorrow.

He said in order to facilitate the public who intend to attend the open house, 1,150 parking lots have been provided at 12 parking spaces around the complex.

People can also park vehicles on private land in Precinct 10 at fields located behind the official residence of the chief secretary to the government, on the right side of Puspanitapuri, at Jalan P10/ 4, at Jalan P10/7, along Jalan P10/8 and Persiaran Seri Perdana,” he said in a statement.

Apart from that, after parking their vehicles people can use the free shuttle bus service made available to take the public to Seri Perdana Complex from three locations, namely Putrajaya Sentral, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque and Putra Mosque, starting at 9.30am.

Mazlan urged the public to plan their trip tomorrow to avoid traffic congestion and to use public transport as parking spaces were limited.

“Comply with traffic regulations and instructions given by the police personnel on duty.

“Be cautious of your surroundings and belongings to avoid pick-pockets and other crimes, and do not leave valuables in your vehicles,” he said, urging the public to make sure their vehicles were locked as well. 

He said if there were any inquiries, the public could contact the Putrajaya district police headquarters (IPD) hotline at 03 88862222. — Bernama

SEREMBAN, June 4 — Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan will hold an Aidilfitri ‘open house’ at No. 1, Kampung Tanjung, Rantau, near here on June 15.

Mohamad, who is discharging the duties of the Umno president, said the open house will be from 9am to 5pm.

Malaysian Muslims celebrate Aidilfitri tomorrow.

Mohamad and his family extended Aidilfitri greetings over his Facebook account and invited the people to the open house. — Bernama