KOTA KINABALU: Street urchins are causing a nuisance by apparently scattering nails or screws on the road and approaching motorists in the city for money.

       Videos and photographs of these children in action have been circulating since Wednesday (April 20), prompting the public as well as local leaders to call for swift action from the authorities.

       Api-Api assemblyman Datuk Christina Liew said the children's actions were not only a public nuisance but could endanger motorists and other road users as well.

       She said the nails and screws in the road could lead to punctured motorcycle or car tyres.

       "Any act to deliberately puncture tyres is a criminal offence. Motorists could lose control of their vehicles and get into accidents,” she said in a statement on Thursday (April 21).

       Liew urged the authorities to round up the street children, who are believed to be undocumented immigrants, before they can cause harm.

       "Please nip the problem in the bud. If left uncontrolled, they may cause public disorder in future," she said.

       She pointed out that the government had pledged not to compromise on the long-standing issue of illegal immigrants when it took over in 2020.

       The Api Api seat is under the constituency of Kota Kinabalu.

       Meanwhile, Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin believed that the children were from the Pa’lau community, and had also been involved in begging and other activities.

       He felt that this was because they had no access to education and other basic rights.

       He urged the government, namely Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan who heads a committee seeking solutions to the issue of Sabah’s stateless people, to come up with a feasible way to overcome the problem.

       Chan also enquired about updates on a proposed one-stop centre that was supposed to be set up at Api-Api in the city to prevent these children from engaging in unhealthy activities or roaming around aimlessly.

       This centre was a Unicef and state government effort to help the children learn the basics of reading, counting, writing and drawing, among other activities.

       He said DAP was ready and willing to provide input on how the state can tackle the problem.