Borneo’s first-ever community social support centre by 2022

KUCHING: The Borneo Best Community Social Support Centre (BBCSSC), which will be established here, is the first of its kind in Borneo and even Malaysia.

The centre is expected to be completed by end of this year while operations will take off early next year.

Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said the public-private-civil society initiative was an integrated and collaborative effort aimed to provide social support and intervention referral services to the community at large.

“The centre had been proposed to the Sarawak Economic Action Council (SEAC) for approval and is currently in the planning stage under the 12th Malaysia Plan.

“We are grateful to the owners of the building, family of Datin Shen-Tel, renovation and improvement works by Datuk Bobby Ting. We are also thankful for the offer: first five years of free rental.”

She told this to New Sarawak Tribune and its sister paper Suara Sarawak in an exclusive interview last Tuesday.

Located in Jalan Abell, Padungan here, the three-storey building presently known as Wisma Ho Ho Lim will undergo a major transformation.

Upon completion, the BBCSSC will feature a transit shelter for the homeless, soup kitchen, community food bank, youth cafe and social enterprise outlet.

It will also include a training centre for women affected by social issues and problems as well as one-stop integrated social intervention referral services with the concept of a mini Urban Transformation Centre (UTC).

Apart from the homeless transit place (TTG) for the homeless under the BBCSSC in Kuching, another TTG in Sibu is currently under construction and is scheduled to be completed by August this year.

Once completed, the place will serve as a shelter for the homeless to clean themselves, eat and sleep at night.

“We would also establish a car washing area next to the building and this will provide jobs for some of the homeless,” Fatimah added.

Elaborating further on the homeless issue in Sarawak, she informed that the ministry rescued 237 homeless people in 83 operations conducted statewide throughout last year. Of these, 194 or 82 per cent were male while the remaining 43 cases or 18 percent were female.

Kuching Division recorded the highest number with 90 cases, followed by Bintulu (43), Sibu (41), Miri (21), Sri Aman (18), Sarikei (nine), Limbang (seven) while Kapit, Serian, Betong and Mukah recorded two cases each.

“During the movement control order (MCO) period last year, 145 homeless people were identified. This number puts Sarawak third in Malaysia to record the highest number of homeless people rescued.

“Among the social support provided were the placement of 83 people in six temporary settlement centres for the homeless (PPSG) in Sri Aman, Sarikei, Sibu, Bintulu, Miri and Limbang.”

Meanwhile, as of February this year, 64 homeless people were rescued in 30 integrated operations conducted statewide.

Of these, 26 cases were in Miri Division, 19 in Kuching, seven in Sibu, four in Samarahan, three each in Sarikei and Limbang, while Sri Aman and Bintulu recorded one each.