IMPOVERISHED residents of Sentul in the heart of the city continue to survive on the goodwill of Pusat Bantuan Sentul (PSB), which has served them for 37 years.
The civil society group helps with food aid, tuition, skills programmes and more for the residents of the Batu Muda low-cost flats (PPR).
PSB executive secretary Stephen Niles Lee said the group mainly helps people in the seven PPRs and marginalised communities in Sentul.
“Sentul is one of the poorer areas of Kuala Lumpur. What we are trying to do is improve the lives of the B40 communities here,” he told The Vibes.
Since the beginning of this year, about 50 families a month have sought financial or food aid from PSB.
“Some of the families are regulars, but we do get about 10 to 15 new families per month seeking aid. It's mostly those who are having difficulty paying rent, electricity, and water bills. Some are also seeking aid to pay medical bills.”
Lee said the centre was founded in 1987 by a group of individuals and is headed by former member of parliament (Segambut and Wangsa Maju) Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong, who is an adviser to the group.
Lee, who has been with the civil society group for the last 16 years, said it is difficult for families who don’t earn much to survive in the city.
“For a small family with two children to live in the city, you will need at least RM2,000 or more to survive. You have rent to pay, utilities, and if you go out for a meal, it can cost RM10 to RM12. "You can see that many in the PPR have outstanding bills with City Hall. So, we try to aid them to help sort it out with the council. Some have even got a red notice. So their needs are more financial.”
Lee said PSB is also helping those who are medically unable to work with food.
“We currently are helping 100 families a month. There is also a soup kitchen here, where we give out about 75 packets of cooked meals twice a week to the community, which is sponsored by one of the banks. We also assist families who need housing by referring them to DBKL. Some of our programmes include providing school uniforms, bags, and shoes for the children. We also conduct literacy programmes at the PPR.”
He said PSB is also working closely with Batu lawmaker P. Prabakaran.
“We help with what we can, and if it is a bigger issue, then we will refer them to him (Prabakaran). We can’t handle all the cases. Most of the cases are walk-ins, and there are cases that are referred to us by those in the community. We are also working with the welfare department. So, in some of the simpler cases, we can help. But if it involves getting a PPR for families, then we need Prabakaran’s support.”
Lee said that PSB is run purely on donations, sponsors, aid from the corporate sector, and others.
“We rely on their goodwill as we are not getting any financial allocations. It’s a big challenge. Our main requirement here is funding to help the community.” – June 16, 2024.
