Assistant minister to the chief minister Abidin Madingkir said RM250,000 has been allocated for the pilot project.

The site of the shelter is a vacant government-owned house in Kota Kinabalu which will be renovated.

The first batch of children is slated to move in by the end of this year.

“These street children will be sent to the shelter for rehabilitation for a maximum of three months,” Abidin said.

“The centre will provide special programmes on self-management, community life and informal spiritual learning.

“After three months, they will be returned to their parents or guardians.”

He said the parents or guardians will be warned against allowing the children to roam the streets again.

He said the health department will conduct medical check-ups on the children before they are admitted into the centre, which will be guarded around the clock by People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) personnel.

According to Abidin, the majority of the street children are Pala’uh, a stateless group who have traditionally lived on Sabah’s east coast waters.

He said there are currently 1,331 Pala’uh living in Kota Kinabalu but stressed that this pilot project will only target street children and not the entire Pala’uh population.

Abidin said the Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) has done a lot to try and resolve the problem of street kids but also faced some limitations.

“We cannot imprison these children because they are minors. Sometimes, in DBKK, we collect money among ourselves to give them food until their parents arrive to pick them up,” he said.

At the same time, he urged Sabahans not to encourage the children by giving them money, buying their wares or paying them to carry out tasks like carrying groceries to their cars.

“If we don’t use their services, they will stop eventually. If we continue to buy from them or use their services, they will not cease.”