Four out of ten Saudi residents (42 per cent) believe that the Government needs to take strict action against those found begging in the kingdom, according to a new survey.

This is in stark contrast to 1 in 3 (33 per cent) who believe that the government should help beggars to earn a living for themselves, and 19 per cent who believed that the government should provide financial aid to beggars, found YouGov Siraj’s Omnibus survey.

“The basic principle can be applied across many strands of Saudi society – we have the hardliners, who believe the government should enforce the ban on beggars and take strict action, versus the moderates who believe the government should be trying to help beggars to stand on their own two feet,” said Sundip Chahal, chief operating officer, YouGov Siraj.

Whilst half of Saudi residents (51 per cent) believe that begging is often an easy way to make money, more than 1 in 3 (37 per cent) will try to help beggars by offering food or money when approached. However 1 in 4 (25 per cent) will simply ignore beggars and try to walk away or drive away as quickly as possible, when approached, the survey revealed.

Despite the fact that beggars can often be veiled women and it being virtually impossible to distinguish which nationality they are, Yemenis are the nationality most suspected of begging (55 per cent believe most beggars tend to be from Yemen), followed closely by Saudis (45 per cent) and Pakistanis (25 per cent).-TradeArabia News Service