KUALA LUMPUR – The Rumah Bonda Kuala Lumpur Welfare Organisation, known as “Rumah Bonda,” has filed a suit against the Kuala Lumpur Social Welfare Department for a court order to reopen the shelter.
Its chairman, Siti Bainun Ahd Razali, filed the suit on behalf of the shelter, as the plaintiff through Messrs Asiah Abd Jalil Law Chambers at the magistrates’ court here on Tuesday, and named the Kuala Lumpur Welfare Department director as the sole defendant.
The plaintiff is seeking an order from the defendant to remove the seal notice issued on July 12, 2021, on the shelter’s premises at Taman Setapak and to use the premises for other purposes than as a care centre, as well as costs and other relief deemed fit by the court.
In the supporting affidavit, Siti Bainun said she received the sealed notice from the department stating that Rumah Bonda at Taman Setapak would be closed under Section 16A(1) of the Care Centres Act 1993.
She claimed that the seal action, issued on July 12, last year, on the grounds that Rumah Bonda was not registered under the act, was done unfairly and not in accordance with the administrative principles and law as the department knew that the shelter was still in the process of registration.
On April 20 this year, Rumah Bonda received a RM5,000 compound notice under Sections 21A and 24 of the Care Centres Act 1993, and the shelter paid the full amount on April 25, she said in a supporting affidavit.
According to Siti Bainun, she was disappointed when she was informed by the Welfare Department enforcement officer that the centre could only be opened by way of a court order although the compound had been paid in full.
“As the chairman of Rumah Bonda and representing committee members, I promise that if the court gives an order to remove the seal notice, Rumah Bonda and I will not use the premise as a care centre until it is registered under Section 10 of the Care Centres Act 1993,” she said.
Siti Bainun said Rumah Bonda still has to pay a monthly rental of RM2,800 despite the premises being vacant since the sealing action on July 12 last year.
A check on the court system revealed that the case management is set before magistrate Nur Syafiqah Noorinda on June 22. – Bernama, June 10, 2022
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