He expressed disappointment over the incident, which was captured in a video that went viral, adding that anyone who wanted to hold any programmes with the homeless must be mindful of their manners.

“I was aggrieved when I saw the way the man was treated. Don’t insult the homeless. Please treat them with respect. Parties who want to help the homeless need to be professional,” he told FMT.

In the 49-second video, the speaker had asked a participant of his talk titled “Change Your Life” for his age, and proceeded to openly criticise him for supposedly “playing around in his youth”.

There were about 20 other residents from the shelter who were listening to the talk at the time.

Addressing the 64-year-old participant, the speaker asked: “Do you regret not doing anything when you were younger? Do you regret playing around too much, doing things half-heartedly when you were younger? Do you regret it?”

Many took to social media to criticise the speaker for insulting the participants of his talk, calling him “insensitive and disrespectful”.

Meanwhile, Dang Wangi police confirmed that the speaker had been fined RM1,500 for conducting the talk without wearing a mask.

An aide to Annuar had also clarified yesterday that the man had not been invited by the ministry nor Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) but was part of an NGO that was there to conduct an entrepreneurship programme.