The homeless life: a profile study in penang

Living on the streets is a common scenario in the cities including Malaysia. The Malay idiom “Berat Mata Memandang Berat Lagi Bahu Yang Memikulnya”, which means it is difficult to watch but even more difficult to be the one bearing the weight, is a suitable idiom to describe the way of life of these homeless people. There are reasons why they chose this life that is far apart from their own family. Thus, a profile study has been conducted to identify the reasons why the respondents choose the life of being homeless. This qualitative study was conducted in the form of an interview with 11 respondents amongst the Muslim homeless people at the Kapitan Mosque, Lebuh Acheh and KOMTAR, in the state of Penang. The data was analysed manually to answer the research questions. The findings show that the response of each respondent has their own reasons for choosing the life of being homeless. They surrendered it all to God and did not regret choosing to live in such a way. Therefore, the study suggests that in order to help the welfare of homelessness, the establishment of “one stop centre” for accommodation, eating, worship and self-management, is better than “rescue” efforts and placing them in institutions, their parents’ homes or in retirement homes.