Monday, Nov 12, 2012
SELANGOR, Malaysia - The halfway house for single mothers in Gombak had not made any attempt to register its shelter since 2003, said Federal Territory Welfare Department director Noormah Abd Rauf.
She said Kem Modal Insan Kewaja was not only operating illegally, it also did not have the approval of the local Fire and Rescue Department to convert the two single-storey link houses into a shelter.
"They only came to us for advice. So, whatever the manager said about attempting to get themselves registered is not true," she said yesterday.
Noormah also said the department had received complaints about the shelter's non-compliance with the Care Centres Act since 2010 and that it was not being run properly.
Several women who were staying at the home have also claimed that their babies were forcibly taken away from them and "sold" to foster parents.
Noormah urged these women to lodge complaints with the police.
She also said the department was working hard to register more welfare homes and shelters, adding that they were 1,357 unregistered homes compared to 928 registered ones.
"We have conducted a lot of courses for these homes' operators to ensure that the quality of care at these shelters is up to standard for the welfare, safety and well-being of the inmates," she said.
Noormah said that a registration programme, which was conducted recently, had enabled the department to identify illegal shelters.
