It’s not the first time that the Malaysian government has tried to deter the public from being too generous with beggars. For example, in 2012, one of the objectives of Kar1sma (Transformasi Kebajikan Rakyat 1 Malaysia, or 1Malaysia People Welfare Transformation Plan) was to reduce begging, especially in Kuala Lumpur, including by educating the public that if you gave alms to beggars, it could contribute to issues of drug abuse, prostitution and homelessness.Then, in 2014, the Federal Territories Minister at the time, Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, announced that soup kitchens should not be allowed to operate in central KL, saying that it “encourages people to be jobless and homeless”, and that it was “necessary in order to create a disciplined society” (“Tengku Adnan: Soup kitchens banned within 2km radius of city centre”, The Star, July 3, 2014).

We can wring our hands and fret that people are so easily abusing Malaysians’ generosity. Or we should be grateful that there are people out there who genuinely want to help and are willing to contribute. It’s just that it’s hard to figure out who is for real and who is not.

These days, I’m still willing to buy food if somebody comes up to me at a food court or hawker centre asking for money. But they don’t always accept, and I don’t always offer, depending on whether they look genuine or not