A Fruitful Meeting with Persatuan Mekar Naluri (Malarum Nenjanggal)

On 23rd September 2010, we had a fruitful meeting with Persatuan Mekar Naluri (Malarum Nenjanggal) is a charity group established by a group of youths in Puchong, Selangor; for the purpose of the care and development of underprivileged homes, disabled persons; single parents and poor families with the motive of .........
"Help The Helpless". Since its inception, Persatuan Mekar Naluri has helped numerous homes and centres in improving their activies and lives by providing manpower and social services. On behalf of ILTC, we are pleased to inform that, Malarum Nenjanggal Management Committee has decided to organize a “Charity Cultural Show” to be held on the 4th December 2010 (Saturday) – 8.00pm. – SJK © Han Ming Hall, Batu 14, 47100 Puchong, Selangor Darul Ehsan. The main aim of organizing this programme is to raise fund towards maintaining our training centre and also in aid of building fund of our organization.

Paper Article - China Press

China Press - 25/09/2010

Paper Article - Malaysia Nanban

Malaysia Nanban - 25/09/2010

Paper Article - Sinar Harian

Sinar Harian - Sabtu 25, September 2010

Respect all life

Thursday September 30, 2010

Respect all life
Group draws attention to the rights and welfare of animals under our care.

LAST week, a group of disabled folks from Selangor took a bold step to do something that had never been done before. They drew public attention to an important issue –the need for all Malaysians to respect and protect the rights and welfare of animals.

The issue arose after nine pedigree canines were put to sleep by the Kuala Langat District Council (MDKL) on Sept 19.

Fed up with the lackadaisical attitude towards the welfare of animals, the handicapped decided to do something about it.

They wanted to meet with the MDKL president personally to impress upon him why dogs are Man’s best friends.

They also wanted to stress that the MDKL should have made every effort to save and retrain the animals instead of putting them down.

A dozen people with varying types of disabilities packed themselves and their foldable wheelchairs into two special vans last Friday.

They started off from Rawang and took nearly two hours to reach MDKL’s headquarters.

It was one challenge after another for the team from the word “Go!”

The first obstacle was to get everyone to meet at one venue early in the morning.

A few of them had cars and motorcycles, and managed without too much difficulty. The rest had to hire taxis. Some of the taxi drivers made a fuss about having to put the foldable wheelchairs into the boot of their car.

Many had to wake up an hour or two earlier so they could be at the pick-up point on time. They had to feed their companion pets first before leaving.

Several of the parking lots reserved for the disabled at public restrooms along the way to MDKL were taken up by able-bodied drivers even though there were wheelchair signs at these parking space. As a result, they had to use parking lots meant for the able-bodied.

The situation was no better when they arrived at the MDKL. The only two car parks for the disabled were occupied by the council’s staff. The group had to wait until the staff moved their cars.

Inside the building, there were no disabled-friendly toilets. The visitors prayed that they would be able to sit through the event without having to use the toilet.

However, the group were pleased that they were able to meet the president.

They wasted no time in expressing their disappointment that authorities such as the Department of Veterinary Services was not involved in the removal of the dogs from an abandoned farm.

The veterinarians would have been in the best position to assess each animal and its behaviour.

Even if one or two were found to be aggressive, the DVS would have known how to sedate, remove and rehabilitate them later, before giving up all hope.

The group went to great lengths to explain to the council how each of the dead dogs, which included Rottweilers, Dalmatians and a boxer, could have easily found loving homes because they were pedigrees.

Former councillor for the Selayang municipality, Gurdip Kaur, a wheelchair user who has a pedigree service dog of her own, pointed out that with proper training, any one of the canines could have been successfully paired off with an elderly or handicapped person.

Francis Siva, who is paralysed from the neck down, said that Rottweilers were not “dangerous dogs” as mistakenly assumed by some people.

Serving as adviser to Petpositive, an animal-assisted therapy organisation for the disabled and the elderly, Francis said the breed was being used by several members of the society as therapy canines to help improve their quality of life.

“When dogs attack, it is almost always the owners who are to be blamed,” said Francis, who is also president of the Independent Living and Training Centre (ILTC) in Rawang.

ILTC committee member Hajjah Khairozy, who has a walking difficulty, related an amazing experience she had three years ago with a stray dog that saved her life.

The dog which was in front of her house started barking non-stop when her home suddenly caught fire. Even her neighbours had no idea what was going on until they were alerted by the canine’s barks.

After hearing all that they had to say, Francis said the council president conceded that they could have handled the situation better rather than culling the canines.

“He even promised us that there would not be a repeat of the incident,” he added.

Disabled protesters harassed for seeking info

Sat, 25 Sep 2010 12:10

Free Today Malaysia

Disabled protesters harassed for seeking info .
By G Vinod
BANTING: A group of 12 disabled individuals wanted to find out why the nine pedigree dogs belonging to the alleged murderers of cosmetics millionaire Sosilawati were killed in such a cruel manner.

They got more than they bargained for: they were harassed by unknown persons at the Kuala Langat district council and the Kuala Langat police headquarters when they visited these places today.

The members belonged to the Independent Living and Training Centre and The Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association.

The group, led by ILTC coordinator Francis Siva, arrived at the district council at 9.45am to demand an explanation over the decision to kill the dogs.

“We went there to speak to the officer, Abdul Razak Jaafar, to seek answers over the killings. He told us that it was the police who gave the instruction.

“Suddenly, three unknown men started harassing us at the office after a press conference and used racial slurs against us before being stopped by some officers,” Siva said.

Insults hurled

But their ordeal was not over. When they went to the Kuala Langat police headquarters, they were again harassed by another group of five men.

“We spoke to an officer, Assistant Commissioner Nordin Manan, who told us it was not the police who decided to put the dogs to sleep.

“When we left, we were again harassed by another five men who started hurling insults and banging our vehicle while we were moving out,” Siva claimed.

Siva was shocked that though they were being harassed in front of Nordin, it took him (Nordin) nearly five minutes to stop the troublemakers.

“We are not even safe even in a police department,” he said.

When asked what he planned to do next about the harassment, Siva said he will consult his lawyer before pursuing any legal action.

“I am also planning to meet the new Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar over the matter,”he added.

Group cries foul over killing of nine dogs at poultry farm

Saturday 25 September 2010

Group cries foul over killing of nine dogs at poultry farm
THASHA JAYAMANOGARAN

BANTING: Yet another group has come forward to express their dissatisfaction over the actions of Kuala Langat District Council officers, who last Sunday had put nine dogs, belonging to the main lawyer suspect in the quadruple murder of cosmetics millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and her three aids.

Committee members of the Independent Living and Training Centre (ILTC) today held a protest in front of Majilis Kuala Langat building to address their dissatisfaction against the council for euthanising the nine dogs, comprising six Rottweilers, two Dalmatians and one Bulldog, at the poultry farm at Gadong during investigations into the murders.

During the protest, members assembled outside the building carried several signs condemning the killing of the dogs and questioned the council's authority in taking such measures.

Following the protest, a meeting was held between ILTC and Kuala Langat district council president Abdul Razak Jaafar on the matter.

During the meeting, ILTC committee members wanted to know why the council did not consult with the Department of Vetirinary Services (DVS) or other animal welfare groups such as the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to take the dogs away instead of putting them to sleep.

They also wanted serious action to be taken against those involved in putting the dogs down and an assurance this incident would not be repeated in future.

“We want to know why they killed the nine dogs just like that. This is an unacceptable and a cruel act," ILTC president Francis Siva said when met with reporters after the meeting.

“I feel the council needs education on this. Dogs are important to us, as they help us disabled in terms of security and they make our lives easier as the dogs are trained to help us in our daily activities," he added.

Francis stated the Centre was upset with the council's seeming lack of understanding and again called for the Selangor Government to take action against those responsible for the dog's death.

He questioned why the killing of the dogs was carried out on a quiet Saturday, without anyone's knowledge, stating that such action can be deemed as suspicious.

Francis's call was echoed by ILTC secratary Gurdip Kaur.

Stressing on the importance of dogs, Guldip spoke of a previous incident when her home was almost robbed.

She said, “one day, there was an attempted robbery at my house and my dog came to lick my leg to indicate that someone was at the window . I take care of my dogs like they are my children and they do listen to their owners when they are trained."

ILTC committee member Hajjah Khairozy also related a similar experience three years ago when she told The Paper That Cares that if it was not for a dog she would not be alive today.

She said the dog barked constantly in front of her house to alert her to the fact her house was on fire and said, "even my neighbors were not aware that my house was on fire. I am blessed to be alive today because of a dog," she said.

ILTC were advised to lodge a police report on the matter by Kuala Langat district ASP Nor Imran Abd Rahman.

Meanwhile, Abdul Razak told reporters the reason why the dogs were put to sleep was because they were found to be a danger to police carrying out the murder investigations, and so he said the dogs were given lethal injections.

“The dogs tried attacking the police, and it was too dangerous so we had no choice. We tried contacting DVS to transfer the dogs, but we could not get hold of them at that point," he explained, adding council officers thus had no choice but to take immediate action.

OKU bantah MDKL bunuh anjing

Sabtu 25-9-2010

OKU bantah MDKL bunuh anjing

BANTING – Badan Latihan dan Hidup Berdikari (ILTC) yang terdiri daripada golongan orang kurang upaya (OKU) membantah tindakan Majlis Daerah Kuala Langat (MDKL) membunuh sembilan anjing liar dengan ubat pelali berdos tinggi.

Tindakan itu dibuat berikutan anjing berkenaan cuba bertindak agresif terhadap kakitangan MDKL serta membaham ayam, kambing dan menyerang mereka di lokasi kes pembunuhan Pengasas Kosmetik terkenal, Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya di Ladang Gadong, Tanjung Sepat.

Presiden ILTC, Francis Siva berkata, beliau kecewa apabila MDKL mengambil keputusan membunuh anjing liar berkenaan tanpa memikirkan kehidupan tersebut dapat diselamatkan.

Menurutnya, bantahan yang bermula jam 10 pagi itu bertujuan untuk mengenalpasti mengapa pihak terbabit tidak berbincang dengan jabatan terlibat terutamanya jabatan haiwan bagi mengelakkan kehidupan liar itu pupus.

“Selain itu, ILTC yang berperanan meningkatkan kebajikan dari setiap sudut meminta Kerajaan Negeri Selangor memberi maklum balas terhadap tindakan pihak berkuasa tempatan (PBT) berkenaan membunuh kehidupan liar berkenaan.

“Sebagai manusia ahli ILTC tidak boleh menerima hakikat mengapa haiwan liar berkenaan dibunuh sedangkan haiwan lain yang terdapat di Ladang Gadong berkenaan dipelihara semula,” katanya yang mengetuai bantahan berkaitan sembilan anjing liar dibunuh di perkarangan MDKL semalam.

Sementara itu Yang Dipertua MDKL, Abdul Razak Jaafar berkata, beliau mendapat arahan daripada polis untuk menangkap anjing liar berkenaan kerana dipercayai mengganggu kerja siasatan polis di lokasi berkenaan.

Menurutnya, semasa tangkapan dilakukan, anjing berkenaan bertindak agresif ke atas kakitangan MDKL sehingga memaksa MDKL memberi suntikan pelali.

“Pihaknya hanya menerima arahan polis bagi membantu melancarkan perjalanan siasatan di lokasi ladang berkenaan tanpa niat,” katanya.

Sementara itu, sedikit kekecohan berlaku apabila beberapa orang awam tidak berpuas hati dengan tindakan kumpulan OKU terbabit yang mengadakan bantahan terhadap anggota MDKL membunuh anjing liar berkenaan sehingga mencetuskan kekecohan tetapi dapat diselesaikan kakitangan MDKL dan anggota polis yang tiba.

Dalam pada itu, kelihatan kakitangan MDKL meminta kumpulan OKU bersurai tetapi mendapat tentangan daripada mereka kerana tidak berpuas hati dengan layanan yang diberikan MDKL.

Ahli ILTC kemudiannya ke balai polis untuk membuat laporan.

We were protested at Kuala Langat Local Council

12 disabled members from the Independent Living and Training centre (ILTC) and The Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (Petpositive) we staged a strong protest in front of the Kuala Langat Local Council on Friday and led by ILTC President, G. Francis Siva, and secretary P. Rina Kaur. We (Disabled Groups) Were Protested Against The Killing And Murder Of Innocent Dogs By Kuala Langat Local Council (Majlis Daerah Kuala Langat) Who Acted In Haste And Unprofessionally. We were shocked and disappointed to hear about the nine dogs that were put to sleep by authorities last Sunday. We urge the Selangor Government and State Local Government Committee Chairman Ronnie Liu call for full investigation and want those responsible to be punished. During the meeting YDP Abdul Razak Jaafar from District Council said that, the dogs could not be controlled. Due to that, they had to put them down for the saftey of their staff.

The explaination were unacceptable and a case of murder. We demanded an explanation and expressed dissatisfaction over the action. We know that, Rottweilers are one of the best breeds in the world for the disabled person and loyalty

We also raised question that, why local council did not request help from the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) when it carried out its exercise to handle the dog problem.

Finally, we went to met Kuala Langat Police Cheif Assistant Commissinoner Nordin Manan to verify the Local Council YDP Razak statement towards the blames Police issuing order to kill.

Nordin denies the statement.

Now we know that, who is the culprit !!!!!!!

It’s a very disappointed day for us at MDKL situation became worse after the press conference has been brought under some degree of pressure by unknown people and also the same thing happened in front of at the Kuala Langat Police Cheif Assistant Commissinoner Nordin Manan.

These shows no proper protection for the disabled in Malaysia.

CANINE CULLING: Local Council Blames Police But Police Denies Issuing Order To Kill

Courtesy from PETPOSITIVE

CANINE CULLING: Local Council Blames Police But Police Denies Issuing Order To Kill
Outraged by dog killing

LATEST UPDATE ON DISABLED PROTEST ON BANTING DOG KILLING:

(Pictures courtesy from ILTC)

A press conference held by Petpositive and the Independent Living and Training Centre (ILTC) at the Kuala Langat District Council (MPKL) at ten this morning ended at 11am. A dozen members from both societies met the YDP Abdul Razak bin Jaafar to express their outrage at the killing of nine pedigree dogs belonging to two lawyers who are presently under criminal investigation in Banting, Selangor.

According to Francis Siva, the adviser of Petpositive and the president of ILTC the event was a huge success.

He said YDP had apologised to the group for the "mistakes made by the local council in the handling of the culling of the dogs."

Francis said that the YDP claimed that he had called the Department of Veterinary Services for help but their calls fell on deaf ears.

The YDP also told the group that it was the OCPD in the area who instructed that the dogs be killed.

However, Francis met the OCPD shortly after the press conference in the local police station and was told by the OCPD himself that he did no such thing and clarified that the police had no right to order the killing of the canines.

The press conference was covered by nearly a dozen news agencies including Bernama TV.

For more updates, stick with us. You can also visit www.iltcmalaysia.blogspot.com

Sharing and caring

Thursday September 16, 2010

Sharing and caring

Hari Raya open house is a wonderful way to celebrate the country’s cultural diversity.

OPEN house invitations to celebrate Aidilfitri proved to be an excellent opportunity for Malaysians to get to know each other better and rejoice in our cultural diversity.

Many of my friends took advantage of the holidays to go out with their families and friends to the many Hari Raya open houses around town. Others went by themselves.

Some Raya celebrants even offered transport for the disabled to attend their open houses.

At public events, the better prepared organisers made it a point to reserve disabled parking lots for handicapped drivers. They went so far as to meet the disabled at their cars and help them into their wheelchairs.

Effort was also made to ensure that the venues had disabled-friendly facilities in the restrooms as well as ramps into the building.

At the Selangor Mentri Besar’s do which I attended, the organisers provided special tables for disabled and elderly visitors. A waiter was on hand to help serve food to the special guests.

Well done to those who took the trouble to cater to special groups.

On another note, the nation’s 53rd birthday celebrations last month did not go down well with my friend Chong Tuck Meng from Bentong, Pahang.

This year was the first time the 49-year-old did not catch any live telecast of the parade from his home.

Chong has been using a wheelchair since a motor accident in 1982 left him paralysed from the neck down.

He recalled his very first Merdeka parade about 10 years ago in Kuala Lumpur.

He described it as one of his most memorable experiences, even though the crowd blocked his view and gave little consideration for his condition.

“Although our nation is now more than half a century old, there is still much to do in raising public awareness on the needs and rights of people with disabilities,” said Chong who serves as adviser for Perwira K9, an organisation for the physically disabled. “Whilst things are changing for the better for the disabled community in other countries, Malaysia has a lot of catching up to do in this area,” said Chong.

“Even in my hometown Bentong, I hardly see any changes for the disabled.”

Chong went on to say that he feels like a prisoner confined to his house. This is because the nearby shops and buildings are mostly inaccessible to wheelchairs.

“The Government, both at the local and Federal levels, should do everything in its power to correct these injustices so that people like me can lead a normal life.

“Because of the gross inaccessibility, the disabled community in Malaysia is among the most backward groups in society.”

“Remembering the disabled during festivities has its plus points as well as negative side,” cautioned Chong. “Festivities can inadvertently turn us into ‘victims’ of charity events, especially when they are over and we are forgotten for the rest of the year.

“People with disabilities should be remembered as often as possible and not only during special occasions.”

Chong also called for a change in mindset regarding the handicapped.

“TV programmes like the popular comedy drama series, Glee, and the blockbuster movie Avatar, feature characters with disabilities who carry a powerful message.

“When will our local TV shows and movies start portraying disabled characters positively? The only time we see disabled people now is during a tragedy, a disaster or in a tear-jerker.

We need to start viewing disability in a better light so that the rest of society will follow suit,” Chong concluded.

Charity Fund Raising 2010

Community Fund Raising Bazaar at First World Plaza (next to the Statue of Liberty) which was held on 4 – 8 September 2010

Participated Homes/Organization

1. Salaam Wanita
2. Pusat Majudiri Y for the Deaf
3. Malaysian Assocation of the Blind
4. Independent Living & Training Centre
5. Rumah Titian Kasih
6. Malaysian AIDS Council
7. United Voice
8. Persatuan Penjagaan Kanak- Kanak Cacat
9. Mouth & Foot Painting Sdn Bhd.

International Student from Singapore has been volunteer 5 days at ILTC to engage community service projects.

All students had a wonderful time in ILTC and it was a great experience for them.

Visitors from Hokkaido University of Education Hakodate Campus, Japan.

Visitors from Hokkaido University of Education Hakodate Campus, Japan.

On August 30, 2010: We had the opportunity to meet the Japanese foreign students from Japan visited ILTC and donated 2 unit of wheelchairs to the ILTC members Ms. Letchumy & Mr. Steven Shanthanam. Hokkaido University of Education located around Hokkaidō, Sapporo, Japan. It is a national, public university, administered by the government of Japan.
On the day, we had shared our works at ILTC to the Students.

We exchanged our meaningful thoughts of Nothing is impossible. They had a great time at the ILTC

To provide us more accessibility for the 450-metre pavement a disabled-friendly walkway along Jalan Gasing.

Sinar Harian - Isnin 13-9-2010