Umno's 'cheap shot' at animal rights ruffles feathers

Animal rights and welfare groups today demanded an apology from Selangor Umno Youth delegate Zuinuri Zainal, who had accused them of attempting to incite public hatred against the government.

“We are very upset and shocked by this statement. We were criticised for speaking up for other living beings, going beyond our (own) difficulties to think of somebody else's,” said Anthony Thanasayan, the president of Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (Petpositive).

He was referring to Selangor delegate Zainuri Zainal who at the Youth debates at Umno's 61th general assembly on Wednesday blasted a disabled rights group for protesting against the Kuala Langat Municipal Council for putting nine dogs to sleep on Sept 19.

The dogs were put down by lethal tranquillisers at the poultry farm in Sungai Gadung, the scene of the alleged murder of cosmetics millionaire Sosilawati Lawiya.

Several days later disabled rights group Independent Living and Training Centre and Petpositive had staged a protest against the municipal council, saying the dogs could have been handled by the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) or other animal welfare groups.

The council has since defended their actions saying that the dogs had posed a danger to police personnel investigating the murder case.

Zainuri at the assembly described their actions as an attempt to “draw public ire against the authorities”.

“If (you) nothing positive to say about the disabled, please keep your mouth shut,” said Thanasayan of Zainuri's outburst.

“If you want to speak about the disabled at the Umno meeting speak about the problems we are having in getting jobs, and lack of support.

“But if you have the audacity to criticise us for doing something nice and right for defenceless creatures, he should be ashamed and apologise to us,” he said, chiding the Umno delegate for using them for “cheap publicity”.

Implied of being 'terrorist'

Malaysian Animal Welfare Society president Shenaaz Khan also blasted Zainuri for suggesting that the protest was instigate by the Pakatan Rakyat government.

Shenaaz said that the suggestion was absurd as the groups were there on their own independent capacity, and their protest was against the Pakatan-run municipal council.

“He has suggested that (the protestors) are cheap, shallow and that they are for sale, and he implied that they are terrorist by trying to 'instill public hatred',” she said.

“I don't know what kind of ignorance permeates through Umno. They continue to make these stupid statements.

Shenaaz added that since the protest, the Selangor government has taken their complaints into consideration and has come up with new guidelines on how municipal councils should act in such cases.

Kebas duit OKU

Khamis 21-10-2010

Kebas duit OKU

KUANG – Kerja jahat tidak mengenal mangsa. Golongan orang kurang upaya (OKU) yang sepatutnya dibantu juga tidak terlepas menjadi mangsa pihak tidak bertanggungjawab yang mengambil kesempatan terhadap kelemahan mereka.

Itulah juga yang berlaku kepada pasangan suami isteri OKU, Adam Suradi, 44 dan Mazarina Amir, 34 yang kehilangan RM1,800, sumbangan Lembaga Zakat Selangor (LZS) untuk membeli kerusi roda bagi memudahkan pergerakan mereka.

Pasangan yang menghidap tulang belakang bengkok yang mengehadkan pergerakan mereka sepatutnya berupaya menjalani kehidupan lebih selesa sejak setahun lalu, kini terus terhimpit dengan kepayahan meneruskan rutin harian.

"Semuanya gara-gara seorang individu yang mendakwa wakil syarikat pembekal kerusi roda berkunjung ke rumah kami Ogos 2009 lalu menuntut cek RM1,800 itu tetapi lesap hingga ke hari ini selepas berjanji akan menghantar kerusi roda tersebut beberapa hari selepas cek dituntut," kata Adam ketika ditemui di kediamannya, semalam.

Adam berkata, cek RM1,800 itu diperolehnya awal Ogos 2009 selepas permohonan mendapatkan kerusi roda yang dibuat melalui ibu pekabat LZS di Shah Alam diluluskan.

"Pada awal Ogos 2009 dia dimaklumkan permohonan kerusi roda itu telah lulus dan dia dimaklumkan perlu mengambil cek tersebut di cawangan Lembaga Zakat Bukit Rahman Putra.

"Saya ketika itu hanya mengikut arahan jadi saya pergi ke pejabat Lembaga Zakat di Bukit Rahman Putra untuk mengambil cek tersebut yang bernilai RM1,800 yang dipalangkan atas nama sebuah syarikat pembekal kerusi roda,” katanya.

Bagaimanapun katanya, pada 20 Ogos 2009 dia telah didatangi seorang wakil daripada syarikat pembekal kerusi di rumahnya yang mahu mengambil cek tersebut.

”Saya terus menyerahkan cek itu dan wakil syarikat terbabit berjanji akan menghantar kerusi roda ke rumah saya, namun setelah hampir dua bulan menunggu kerusi roda itu tidak dihantar menyebabkan saya terus merujuk kepada Lembaga Zakat Selangor sebelum pergi menuntut sendiri di syarikat pembekal yang dimaksudkan,” katanya.

Dalam pada itu, katanya, dia dimaklumkan bahawa wakil syarikat yang dimaksudkan belum lagi menyerahkan apa-apa wang atau cek bagi pembelian kerusi roda dan difahamkan nama syarikat yang pada cek tersebut juga berlainan.

”Saya diberitahu nama syarikat yang tertera di dalam cek tersebut lain dan saya terus membuat laporan polis,” katanya.

Menurutnya, meskipun sudah memperoleh kerusi roda sumba- ngan daripada pihak lain, dia kesal dengan kejadian tersebut.

"Duit itu adalah hak orang yang memerlukan dan tidak boleh sewenang-wenangnya disalahgunakan,” katanya.

Thursday October 21, 2010

Budget brings cheer to disabled

Budget 2011 brought some relief for the disabled.

MALAYSIANS were glued to their television and radio sets last Friday, listening to the Budget 2011 speech by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in Parliament.

Chong Tuck Meng, 50, from Bentong, Pahang, was one of them.

“I am pleased to note that the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry has been allocated RM1.2bil in aid, of which RM218mil will be used to assist some 80,000 disabled individuals,” says Chong.

“However, it was not stipulated how the money would be used to help them,” he adds, pointing out that previous programmes organised by the Welfare Department had not done much to improve the quality of life of the handicapped.

Chong, who was paralysed from the neck down following an accident 30 years ago, is now adviser of Perwira K9, an NGO which he founded. It has about 700 members with spinal injuries.

Chong also recalls a pre-Budget meeting called by the ministry about six months ago.

“There were too many special focus groups involved and everyone seemed to be all over the place. There wasn’t enough time for real discussion. Some of the disabled groups that turned up didn’t seem to know what they wanted.”

Now that the ministry has been given a special allocation, Chong feels that minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil should call for another meeting to fine-tune what is really important.

“The ministry should also select NGOs with the people’s interest at heart and work closely with them to achieve the PM’s goals,” says Chong.

Petaling Jaya resident Stanislaus Anthony, 61, was disappointed that the disabled did not get any increment for their present allowance of RM300.

“I was hoping that the PM would give all disabled Malaysians – whether blind, Deaf or in a wheelchair – a monthly allowance of RM500 across the board,” he says.

“It’s getting harder and harder to be a disabled person in Malaysia these days when employers don’t want to hire you because you are handicapped or you just can’t get out of the house because of the lack of public transport and accessibility,” Stanislaus laments.

“It is high time the authorities, whose job it is to help the handicapped, came down to our level to see what our problems are.

“As an individual who does his part to help other disabled people, I still have trouble getting wheelchairs for the poor.

“Just last week, a physically handicapped friend of mine was turned down financial aid because he had pay TV and a refrigerator.

“We still have hospitals like Universiti Malaya Medical Centre which treats you for free as an outpatient because of your disability card. But it ignores your card and charges you the sky if you get admitted. Many of the supposedly free medication for the disabled are often out of stock or not covered by the hospital.”

Stanislaus has been disabled since 1988. Now he uses a walking stick and a wheelchair because he has difficulty walking.

For Yam Tong Woo, 57, from Sungai Buloh, Selangor, who suddenly lost his sight two years ago following a bacterial infection, the recent Budget brought bitter-sweet news.

“The good news is the abolishment of sales tax on mobile phones and the waiver of import and sales tax on broadband equipment,” he writes via e-mail.

“The blind will be better able to use technology to help them find jobs and make new friends.

“However, many of the assistive and adaptive technology to help the blind get online are costly and out of reach unless the Government creates a subsidy for them.

“Broadband and telecommunications service-providers should be encouraged to reduce their costs to make their services affordable for blind Malaysians,” added Yam, a former automotive engineer.

Monday October 18, 2010

Shahrizat: Better benefits will boost women’s roles

PETALING JAYA: The move to grant flexible maternity leave up to 90 days to women civil servants will motivate more of them to stay in the workforce, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

She said the Government’s efforts to develop women’s roles and contribution to the economy had also been boosted with a RM30mil fund for various programmes such as the Single Mothers’ Skills Incubator.

“Such steps and others like the Small Office Home Office concept for disabled women will help the Government to achieve 55% in the participation of women in the labour force,” she said in a statement yesterday.

Sharizat said the RM1.2bil allocation in Budget 2011 for the ministry demonstrated the Government’s commitment to the people’s social welfare.

“It proves that the Government is putting more effort into improving the social welfare system in transforming the country into a high-income nation,” she said.

She said RM197mil had also been allocated under the National Key Result Areas to enable households with low earnings to live independently and seek their own income.

“This approach will definitely help more households to get out of poverty,” she added.

Shahrizat said a RM70mil allocation to help non-governmental organisations fight social illnesses was a good measure in taking a holistic approach to deal with problems at the grassroots level.

“This amount is a recognition of the NGO’s important role as a strategic partner with the Government in implementing community development programmes,” she said.

Shahrizat said the people also welcomed the waiving of excise duties for disabled people buying national cars.

“The move is in line with the ministry’s initiatives to give disabled people greater accessibility and mobility. Having a car will also improve their employability,” she said.

ILTC masih perlukan dana

Article 18/10/2010

ILTC masih perlukan dana

RAWANG – Badan Latihan dan Hidup Berdikari (ILTC) masih memerlukan dana bagi membina bangunan sendiri khas untuk golongan orang kurang upaya (OKU).

Presiden yang juga pengasas ILTC, Francis Siva berkata, mereka berjaya mengumpulkan RM380,000 dan masih memerlukan RM570,000 bagi melengkapkan pembinaan bangunan berjumlah RM950,000.

Katanya, bagaimanapun dana sedia ada buat masa ini mampu menampung kemudahan fizikal sepatutnya untuk OKU itu.

“Kami sangat terharu apabila dimaklumkan Exco Negeri, Dr Xavier Jayakumar akan berbincang dengan Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim untuk memberikan dana kira-kira 20 peratus iaitu sekitar RM200,000 daripada kos keseluruhan pembinaan ini.

“Dijangkakan bangunan seluas 1,207 meter persegi ini akan siap dalam tempoh setahun lagi,” katanya selepas majlis pecah tanah pembinaan bangunan itu disempurnakan Xavier, di Kampung Sungai Dua Tambahan, di sini.

Pada program berkenaan, Xavier yang juga Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Tetap Kesihatan, Pekerja Ladang, Kemiskinan dan Kerajaan Prihatin, melancarkan simbolik perasmian dengan menyimen batu-bata pertama bagi pembinaan bangunan OKU itu.

Hadir sama, kira-kira 60 ahli dengan pelbagai jenis kecacatan fizikal dan turut disertai penuntut Fakulti Pendidikan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) yang membuat latihan praktikal di ILTC.

Difahamkan tapak pembinaan itu pula adalah sebahagian tanah pemberian bekas Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri Rawang, Datuk Tang See Hang.

Mengulas berhubung premis digunakan ILTC bagi kegunaan 180 ahlinya buat masa ini, Francis berkata, ia hanya sebuah rumah teres lot tepi, dengan sewa RM1,200 sebulan di Kuala Garing.

“Kita harap tempat baru nanti dapat memberikan kemudahan kepada semua golongan OKU dari semua kawasan dengan perkhidmatan seperti latihan memandu, menjahit, memasak, kelas komputer, kepimpinan dan lain-lain secara percuma.

“Kita jangka bangunan ini juga akan menjadi model terbaik bagi pembinaan bangunan OKU yang sepatutnya, dengan keseluruhan kos diperuntukkan termasuk kemudahan kelengkapan dan peralatan,” katanya.

Difahamkan, usaha OKU lumpuh separuh badan itu mendapat sokongan isterinya, P Gurdip Kaur yang juga berkerusi roda.

Gurdip berkhidmat sebagai Setiausaha ILTC sejak 2000.

Sesiapa berhasrat membantu golongan ini, boleh menghubungi Francis (019-3385959) atau melawat laman web iltcmalaysia.blogspot.com atau email iltcmalaysia@gmail.com.

Anger over puppy abuse photo

Article

Anger over puppy abuse photo

By Elizabeth Zachariah

KUALA LUMPUR: Animal rights groups are furious over a photograph showing two men abusing a puppy.

The photograph, which has been widely distributed over the Internet, shows two men hanging a puppy with string. Both men were showing an obscene gesture with their fingers.

Malaysian Animal Rights Society president N. Surendran said the photograph was one of the worst cases of animal abuse he had seen.

"The fact that they were posing with the puppy shows they are confident no action will be taken against them," he said after lodging a report at the Brickfields district police headquarters here.

He took a swipe at the authorities, like the Department of Veterinary Services, saying they were not doing enough to protect animals.

Surendran said he hoped the police would take the matter seriously and charge the two for their cruel act.

Pet Positive president Anthony Siva Balan Thanayasan called the act "wicked and evil" and said he was shocked and upset over the photograph.

"We have been working hard towards protecting animal rights and to see it breached like this is very sad."

It was learnt that the photograph came to light after a lawyer saw it on a well-known actress' Twitter account.

Malaysian Animal Welfare Society president Shenaaz Khan said police had no excuse but to nail the culprits for the "barbaric" act since their faces were visible in the photograph.

Also present were activists from Independent Living & Training Centre and Lawyers for Liberty.

Meanwhile, district police chief Assistant Commissioner Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid confirmed the report had been lodged.

Read more: Anger over puppy abuse photo http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/25iz/Article#ixzz12g8s9i7n

Highlights of PM’s Budget 2011

These are the highlights of Budget 2011 For The Disabled:

Last Friday, Budget for 2011 has been announced by Malaysia Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib.

ILTC seriously looking at a specific degree how it would benefit the disabled citizen of Malaysia, and how the budget would achieve Najib's objective to build 1 Malaysia Concept.

· In 2011, the Government will allocate RM1.2 bil to the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development.

· The Govt will launch assistance programme to benefit 80,000 disabled individuals with an allocation of RM218mil. On regards of this, ILTC sincerely need to collect more details from JKMM.

· Exemption 100% of excess duty on Malaysian made Motorcar for PWD.

Paper Article - Sinar - 17-10-2010

Wheelchair Protest At Police Station

Note: A true story from courtesy of Petpositive.

Press conference in Brickfields

NEARLY TWO DOZEN animal activists made their way to the police station to express their outrage and condemnation over a picture that has been wildly and widely circulating on the Internet recently where two youths are seen showing their finger and holding a strangled pup by a string.

Cruel and defiant: Just a joke?

The young men are smiling over the camera in shameless defiance over their action - as if to say that the killing of the innocent puppy was a notable achievement in one of their latest exploits.

The protest took place at the Brickfields police station in Kuala Lumpur at 10.30 this morning.

The police report and the press conference held immediately after was put together by several non-governmental organisations that champion animal rights and welfare in the country.

They are Roar, Maw, ILTC and Petpositive.

More than half a dozen of the protesters were persons in wheelchairs.

Speaking on behalf of Petpositive and the disabled group who were present, Anthony SB Thanasayan decried the act as a shocking and shameless act.

Shenaaz: Barbaric act

"What did the puppy do to deserve such cruelty?" he demanded. "A tiny and vulnerable pup like that could never have been a danger to anyone and it could have grown up and trained into a dog that could help the disabled or offer special companionship to the elderly.

Thanasayan is President of Petpositive, a national animal-assisted therapy society that uses pets as special friends for the handicapped and seniors.

"It's a most barbaric act," said Shenaaz Khan from Maw (Malaysian Animal Welfare). "The Department of Veterinary Services also deserves blame for being lackadaisical over animal cruelty issues resulting in monsters like this who can get away with murder realising that no one will come after them." She added.

Speaking for Roar, N Surendran described the incident as one of the worst in the country. He put the blame on the Government for not taking animal rights and welfare seriously.

Apart from the animal rights groups, there were also several lawyers who were animal lovers present.

Surihani's tweet

It is understood from one of the lawyers present that the picture first appeared on popular Malaysian actress Lisa Surihani's tweet. When the lawyer confronted Surihani on her tweet for details, the actress apparently refused to respond.

The protesters want the police to investigate on this case by questioning Surihani on relevant information in order to bring the culprits to justice.

The media who turned up at the press conference included The Star, The New Straits Times Press and Sinar.

Bernama TV also showed up and conducted an interview at the site.

Please write in and tell us what you think about the whole issue.

We have already received numerous reactions on our mobile and in Facebook.

Here are some of them:

"I came across your Blog through the Malaysiakini portal and was very upset watching the youths with the hanged puppy next to them.

I am an animal lover and have saved the lives of lots of dogs and cats. What can I do to protect animal rights in the country?"

> Zaid.

"I feel like hanging the youths just to see how they feel!"

> Grace Tan.

"They should be charged appropriately..and if I had it my way hung by their testicles!"

> Captain Isyak Ghani.

"Words cannot express how I feel just looking at the photograph. My hubby and kids are equally upset. These 2 youths will suffer for what they have done. Let God deal with them..it is an innocent life that they have taken and no one has a right to do so. Whoever who recognise these 2 should shun them for the shameful thing that they have done."

> Wendy Goh.

"What kind of a sick society are we becoming into?"

> Inderjeet Kaur

"Cruel!!!"

> Puvaneswari Narayanasamy

"I'm at a lost for words!"

> Maggie Mala Krish Muru

"Oh God...when who and where, why??"

> Daniya Subramaniam