We Need Every Politician To Fight For Animal Rights

aNt's aNgle:

OF ALL THE DUMBEST COMMENTS I have ever heard, the one put up by the animal NGO Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better or MDDB must surely take the cake, folks!

In their post on Facebook entitled "Politicians Barred" they wrote the following on Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 6.44pm:    

"Heard the police is miffed that the Petknode fiasco is being exploited by some politicians. It is indeed shameful, more so that some of these politicians, who also claim to be animal activists, only appear when there is a lot of media publicity. Animal abuse cases with no media publicity - they certainly would not be there. 

"ANIMAL WELFARE ORGANIZATIONS AND SHELTERS SHOULD NOT ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE USED BY THESE PUBLICITY SEEKING POLITICIANS. Does MDDB use its political contacts when there is a crisis? Nope. So we don't see others have to. If you keep turning to these people to churn out cheap publicity, animal rescue groups will never ever develop their own identities and personalities
.
"BTW heard the the said politicians were barred from the police meeting with affected pet owners by the deputy Selangor police chief. PADAN MUKA!. Don't ever create an an assumption that all rescue groups and shelters are linked to these publicity seeking politicians. You want to help - get us a piece of land for rescued animals."

Normally, I don't bother with paltry or insignificant comments.

However, MDDB's remarks are so ludicrous that it deserves a response - even if it serves only as a educational exercise for anyone so gullible out there to believe such a shallow piece of writing.

1. "Politicians seeking publicity over animal abuse cases": Excuse me, but am I living in the wrong planet or what? My experience with animals have only showed me that there is no publicity whatsoever to be gained in Malaysia for this cause. To put it bluntly, politicians in general couldn't care two hoots about animals, their rights or their welfare. So when lawmakers, state assemblymen or even Ministers join in the bandwagon - even for a fleeting moment - let's please WELCOME them and not INSULT them as MDDB is doing. If not, how on earth are we ever going to help our animals - be they cats, dogs, snakes or even pigs? Incidentally, our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak has just spoken out for the abused cats in the Petknode case. By doing that was our PM seeking "cheap publicity" as MDDB insinuates about the other political big-shots? How utterly ridiculous of the animal NGO!
2. Let's applaud the politicians instead! Who are we or anyone to judge the motives of the political big-wigs who came to defend the defenseless felines? If they are lending towards our cause to help animals - when no others are doing it - let's just embrace them all in the name of animal justice. Who cares if it is from Barisan Nasional government or Pakatan Rakyat - we can give our respective bouquets to them later at the coming polls. As the great saying goes, "we shall know them by the fruits they bear." For now, let's focus our attention on the cats and cats alone. Time is not on their side. The perpetrators need to be brought to justice; stopped in their tracks and spread the message to everyone: animal cruelty will no longer be tolerated by all Malaysians! Who are these so-called hypocrites that MDDB is obviously referring to? They are Parti Keadilan Rakyat vice-presidents Nurul Izzah Anwar, N Surendran, supreme council member and Petaling Jaya City Council Latheefa Koya and Subang Member of Parliament R Sivarasa. How totally brilliant it was for all these political giants to take time off their usual work to drop by at the Petaling Jaya police station to speak up for the owners who lost their cats! Which other politician has done that - and in such a big force? These guys don't need any publicity from what they already have - let alone from animal cruelty issues of all things. They appear on the international news media almost everyday. So what is MDDB's secret motive in trying to defame them? Shouldn't the animal NGO be proud and grateful that they turned up - that is, if it is animal rights that we all really care about? Whose cheating who in the end? In fact, it was MDDB that made the disgusting remark that the death of two Rela members involving a dead cat was because of Karma. As for the police purportedly "chasing" them away, why did that also happen to SPCA chairman Christine Chin? She is clearly not a politician and was present to speak up for animal welfare. Why did MDDB not protest this? In the final analysis, it was the MDDB founder who told many animal NGOs privately and publicly years ago that the organisation only "cared for dogs because it was only canines that suffered most in our society." Well, the Petknode incident clearly shows us that cats suffer extreme abuse as well - if not more. And this case has obviously caused MDDB to come forward to seemingly champion feline issues. Well, at least, in this area, animal awareness is slowly starting to spread - even if it means that animal NGOs also have to be educated in the process. So Yang Berhormats Nurul Izzah Anwar, R Sivarasa, N Surendran, and Latheefa Koya - together with Yang Amat Berhormat Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak, PETPOSITIVE SALUTES YOU all for speaking up for defenseless animals in our country. Let's set aside our differences for a while and work to help these hapless animals!                   

Free Malaysia Today report:

Cat owners upset with cops’ apathy

G Vinod | September 8, 2011

Cat owners affected by the Petknode incident reveal that the police have yet to even classify the case under the Penal Code.

PETALING JAYA: Several cat owners are disappointed with the way the police are handling their complaints against Petknode Pet Hotel’s operators for cheating them.
In a meeting held at the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters here with the state police top brass, the pet owners found out that the police had not even classified the case under the Penal Code despite numerous police reports having been filed.
Pet owner Rahimah Ibrahim claimed that the police were merely trying to pass the buck to the Selangor Department of Veterinary Services (DVS).
“We understand that the police have no authority to investigate cases of animal cruelty. That’s why we also filed about 20 police reports against the pet hotel’s operators for breach of trust.
“However, in the meeting just now, we were informed that they have not even classified the case under Section 420 of the Penal Code (for cheating),” she said.
If found guilty, the operators can face a mininum of one year in jail or a maximum of 10 years and can also be whipped and fined.
The officers present at the meeting were Selangor deputy police chief A Thaiveegan, CID chief Mohd Adnan Abdullah, Petaling Jaya OCPD Arjunaidi Mohamed and his deputy Meor Hamdan.
At about 2pm, seven of the pet owners, accompanied by PKR vice-presidents Nurul Izzah Anwar, N Surendran, supreme council member Latheefa Koya and Subang MP R Sivarasa arrived at the police headquarters for a meeting with Meor.
However, the PKR leaders were barred from attending the meeting despite being promised by Bukit Aman earlier that they would be allowed in.
Initially, the media were also told to disperse from the meeting area by an officer named Tuah but backtracked after Surendran intervened.
Hundreds of pet owners left their cats under the care of Petknode’s operators, Yushairi Khairuddin and Shahrul Azuwan Adanan, during the week-long Hari Raya break.
However, the pet owners blew their top when they found out that their cats, nearly 200 of them, were abandoned without food and water for nine days. Thirteen cats had died.
The whereabouts of another 100 cats was still unknown.
‘Police not interested’
Asked when the police would take action against the duo, Rahimah said she was told that the police needed to “cook and then serve”.
“Meaning they need to investigate first. After completing the investigation, they will pass it (the investigation papers) to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for action,” she said.
Rahimah told the police in the meeting that she was informed by the Damansara Damai police station that the culprits had been detained by the DVS.
“But when I asked them (the police) where the duo are being held, the cops seem to be oblivious about it,” she added.
Surendran, who is also Malaysian Animal Rights Society (ROAR) president, said this showed that the police lacked interest in the case despite Petknode being involved in a clear-cut criminal case.
“They are not bothered to locate the missing cats as well. Even today’s meeting wouldn’t have happened if the pet owners had not pressured the police for it,” he added.


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