Reception staff on duty to register those seeking lodging at Anjung Singgah.
JOHOR BARU: Anjung Singgah, a shelter established by Women, Family and Community Development Ministry here, is known among locals as a place that takes in the homeless.
However, for many - especially those from outside Johor Baru - the shelter serves as a halfway house for them to put up temporarily while they look for a job.
For former Anjung Singgah resident Afnan Safuan Ahmad Fuad, 31, the shelter helped him save on accommodation and meals while starting a new job in Singapore.
The food factory supervisor, who hails from Pahang, said he stayed at the shelter for about a month in 2016, back when it was located in Jalan Segget in the city centre.
Thursday, 10 Dec 2020
Preparing a refuge: Nurul Zahrawaini supervising a staff while
she keeps the empty beds clean at Anjung Singgah in Taman Nongchik, Johor Baru.
JOHOR BARU: While the Malaysia-Singapore border closure has contributed to a rise in the number of homeless in the city centre here, the situation is not helped by the relocation of the Federal Government’s homeless shelter, Anjung Singgah.
The shelter, managed by the National Welfare Foundation Malaysia (NWF), saw a drop of about 80%, from around 30 residents a month previously to fewer than five a month at its new location, said its southern zone director Nurul Zahrawaini Mohamad Nordan.