World Hunger Relief Programme 2010 via a charity walk organized by KFC Holdings (M) Bhd.

Last month, October 30, 2010, ILTC were invited to the World Hunger Relief Programme 2010 via a charity walk organized by KFC Holdings (M) Bhd.

Over 5,000 people turned up near the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya.

The charity walk themed ‘Be The Movement’, was the culmination of a fund-raising effort by KFC and Pizza Hut Malaysia, which helped to raise over RM1.5mil to assist the United Nations World Food programme.

Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin was the guest of honour at the charity walk.

Nong Chik (second from right) and Muhammad Ali (right, in yellow) flagging off the participants for the charity walk.

Raja Nong Chik and Muhammad Ali later flagged off the 3km and 5km charity walk, and also a 40-tonne World Hunger Relief trailer to carry supplies and contributions to be distributed for hunger relief work in various parts of the world.

KFC Holdings (M) Bhd chairman Tan Sri Datuk Muhammad Ali Hashim also contributed to ILTC RM5000.00 under the corporate social responsibility.

Infra OKU dipertingkat

25/11/2010

Tuesday November 16, 2010

No progress in CBR programmes after three years

By IZATUN SHARI
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: There has been no improvement in community-based rehabilitation (CBR) programmes for disabled persons despite RM64mil being allocated three years ago, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

She lamented that until now there was no specialised work to upgrade facilities for disabled people like many other Asia-Pacific countries.

She added that she would personally monitor the programmes from now on through monthly meetings with disabled development department directors and social welfare officers.

She would also oversee the economic empowerment programmes to tap the potential of disabled persons and ensure that CBR centre staff be trained to use new technology for communication to help the disabled.

Special conference: Shahrizat (right) chatting with the participants during the convention Monday.

Shahrizat said the CBR centres should be easily accessible to disabled persons and alternative communication for the disabled should be looked into in view of the IT era.

“I’m not happy. The CBR has yet to improve the disabled facilities despite the CBR transformation plan, which kicked off three years ago,” she told newsmen after closing the Asia Pacific Convention on CBR here yesterday.

Shahrizat also expressed disappointment with employers for not recruiting disabled persons and not providing disabled-friendly facilities for them.

“It is regrettable since Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s administration emphasises inclusiveness, disabled persons are not given their proper place,” she said.

Currently, there are 428 CBR centres nationwide with 1,654 workers handling 18,943 disabled persons.

On the proposal to introduce sex education to kindergarten children next year, Shahrizat said her ministry would have another round of meetings with Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The teaching modules and syllabus were already in place, but had yet to be finalised.

“Tan Sri Muhyiddin will make the announcement on the matter,” she said

Thursday November 18, 2010

Stop the shooting

There is an urgent need for a Bill to protect animals.

THE senseless and cruel shooting of a therapy dog in Ipoh recently was a big setback for Petpositive, an animal-assisted therapy organisation for the disabled and elderly.

The canine, Spunk, was shot dead by the local council (MBI). Spunk belonged to a 75-year-old retired teacher living in Taman Merdeka.

The courageous canine lived up to his name in every way. For 10 years, Spunk served as a faithful watchdog and kept his owner company after her husband passed away. Before anyone – or anything, for that matter – could even approach the front gate, Spunk was already there. This kept his owner safe and secure, especially during the night.

Spunk was also the elderly woman’s best defence against loneliness. He provided her with the motivation to exercise as she had to take him for his daily walks.

From what I heard from the owner, Spunk was also very popular with the neighbours. They all loved him.

In spite of her age, Spunk’s owner was a responsible pet owner. She would always bring along tissues to pick up her dog’s poo whenever they were out for walks.

However, on the morning of Oct 30, she forgot the tissues and went back into the house to get them, leaving Spunk at the gate.

Unfortunately, at that time the dog-shooters were doing their rounds. Seeing their vehicle, Spunk panicked and fled for his life.

Instead of exercising discretion in the situation, they hunted down the dog and shot him in cold blood. They showed no mercy even though Spunk had a valid dog licence around his neck.

His death made a mockery of the laws of the land which required that pet dogs be registered.

To make matters worse, the MBI quickly carted off the carcass before Spunk’s owner could see him. All that was left were traces of her best buddy’s blood splattered on the road.

Does the MBI realise what they have done? Not only have they robbed an elderly person of a friend and companion, but by carting the animal away without allowing her to see it, they have also denied her the chance to properly grieve over the loss of her dog.

Now she is left alone in an empty house filled with memories of Spunk.

And to think that we consider ourselves far superior to other living things.

Even animals in the wild take time to grieve over a loss at the risk of being consumed by predators in the process.

This brings me to the second incident: the passing away of Dusty, one of the few service dogs in the country.

Dusty passed away on Nov 6, and was buried in the compound of his home in a centre for the disabled where he had served for the past 10 years.

The Golden Retriever was a source of joy and inspiration to the residents at the centre.

“Dusty was trained to seek help from our neighbours in times of emergency,” said one of the residents at the centre.

Last week, a group of animal rights activists – including the disabled in wheelchairs – met up with Veterinary Services Department director-general Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Jamaluddin in Putrajaya.

Following the meeting, the DG agreed to an immediate ban on dog-shooting in the country.

A protem Animal Welfare Council will be convened next Thursday. It will be chaired by Dr Abdul Aziz, who had mooted the idea.

The council will cover all aspects of animal welfare. Its main agenda is to push for the first-ever Animal Welfare Bill to protect all animals.

Wednesday November 17, 2010

Ipoh bans shooting of strays

IPOH: The Ipoh City Council has banned the shooting of stray animals with immediate effect.

Council secretary Datuk Abdul Rahim Md Ariff conveyed this decision to a group of animal activists who met him yesterday to hand over a memorandum calling for the ban.

This followed the shooting of Spunk, a 10-year-old dog who was left unattended by its owner here on Oct 29.

Fighting for animal rights: Anthony handing over the memorandum on behalf of the other NGOs to Abdul Rahim during a meeting Tuesday. With them are Dr Ranjit (right) and ISPCA adviser Dr Goh Hue Lang (third from right).

The killing of the therapy dog drew flak from animal lovers and NGOs.

T. Anthony Siva Balan, president of the animal-friendly group Petpositive, said the council had agreed to stop shooting strays and instead use other methods to deal with them.

He said the council would send its officers to Petaling Jaya next week to learn dog-catching methods used by the city council there.

Anthony, a PJ city councillor, said Ipoh was also studying ways to set up an animal pound to keep animals caught in the streets.

He added the Ipoh council would also work with NGOs in dealing with strays.

“A committee set up by the council will discuss methods such as neutering and spaying the animals,” said Anthony, adding that the Ipoh mayor or his representative would visit the 75-year-old owner of Spunk to apologise for the shooting.

Noah’s Ark Ipoh founder and treasurer Dr Ranjit Kaur Mendhir said she was delighted that things had worked out well after the meeting with the council secretary.

Therapy Dog Spunk A Canine Hero Now

Story Courtesy from Petpositive

Therapy Dog Spunk A Canine Hero Now

DATELINE: IPOH, PERAK

ALL IT TOOK WAS FIFTEEN MINUTES.

AND HISTORY WAS CREATED FOR ANIMAL- LOVERS IN THE CITY OF IPOH - ONCE FAMOUS FOR ITS TIN MINE INDUSTRY.

That's the incredibly short time that the Ipoh City Council (MBI) gave the animal and disability rights delegation (that's us!) when we met them yesterday - after making us wait for almost an hour!

However, what we initially thought was going to turn out to be a a disastrous event amazingly worked to our favour when MBI secretary Datuk Abdul Md Ariff started to warm up to our concerns minutes before he left.

He announced the immediate cessation of dog-shooting after we unequivocally expressed our outrage at the shooting-to-death of a therapy dog belonging to an elderly PETPOSITIVE member on October 30th last month.

The groups that were represented at yesterday's meeting were Petpositive from Kuala Lumpur, Independent Living and Training Centre, Rawang, Selangor, SPCA Selangor, Noah's Ark of Ipoh (protem), Ipoh SPCA and Ipoh Animal Welfare Society.

There were three representatives from the Department of Veterinary Services from Perak who played an instrumental role in helping the council to decide on the ban on dog-shooting.

Ipoh, here we come!

The journey to Ipoh from Petaling Jaya began at 7.30 in the morning. Francis Siva from the ILTC (left) and I were worried about our stomachs playing up at the last minute. Fortunately for us, no such disaster happened.

Say "cheese" everybody!

The news-starving cameramen insisted that we take a photo-shoot outside the MBI before our meeting. We cordially obliged not knowing what was going to happen next.

Powwow before the battle

Yours Truly as leader of the group had to make sure we clarified our goals of what we wanted that money. No point in contradicting anyone and confusing the council.

No telling what was going to happen

The arrangement of the discussion table seemed to be something like a war zones. Was worried if there was going to be shouting matches, etc.

Memorandum Handover

Datuk Rahim makes the first move. He walks down from his podium to greet his guests in wheelchairs. We take the opportunity to collectively hand over the memorandum.

The press conference after the meeting

The media couldn't wait to talk to us. We announce the good news - half believing ourselves what we had heard. The MBI responded warmly. Dog-shooting was off. They said they were sorry and would get in touch with the elderly woman who lost Spunk. Amazingly, a stray dog had given his life so that other strays could live on without fear of being brutally murdered.

Lunch with Noah's Ark, Ipoh

Had a terrific Chinese lunch. From left: Malika Ramiah, President of Noah's Ark, Dr Ranjit Kaur (Treasurer) and Francis Siva (Petpositive Adviser and President of ILTC.

"V" is for VICTORY!

Another one for the album outside the Chinese restaurant. (Far left: Vice President of Noah's Ark Jayamalar Jeyaratnam, Noah's Ark animal rescuer Victor (in singlet) and standing second to right, ILTC volunteer.)

At limestone heaven: ISPCA shelter

No victory can be complete if not shared with a special friend. This little pup from the ISPCA is moving on to his new owners soon. We simply couldn't resist the temptation to have him in our picture to make it - and our trip complete.

Monday November 15, 2010

Groups to form animal council

By ISABELLE LAI
isabellelai@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: Animal welfare groups will come together in Putrajaya on Nov 25 to form a national council to push for the creation of an Animal Welfare Bill.

Petpositive president Anthony Thanasayan said the formation of the council, which was initiated by the Veterinary Services De­­partment, was propelled by the recent shooting of licensed therapy dog Spunk by Ipoh City Council dog catchers.

“Spunk did it all, even in death. He has spurred us to take action and do something to help all the other animals,” he said in an interview here yesterday.

The council will have its first pro tem meeting on that day.

It was reported that 10-year-old Spunk was shot dead after its 75-year-old owner left it unattended for a while to get toilet paper to clean after the animal.

He said the council’s top priority was the creation of the Animal Welfare Bill.

“This will drastically improve the well-being of animals, especially strays or abused ones,” he said, adding that the council’s formation was awaiting approval from the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry.

“I will definitely urge for a special licence to be given to therapy dogs, which forbids dog catchers to grab them off the street or harm them in any way,” said Anthony, who heads the animal-assisted therapy organisation for the disabled and elderly.

He said every aspect of animal care would be discussed by the council, from issues such as slaughtering animals in a humane manner and treatment of livestock to domestic animal care.

Other non-governmental associations taking part in the meeting are the KL Animal Welfare Society, the Ipoh Animal Welfare Society, Noah’s Ark Ipoh and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Ipoh and Selangor.

Anthony said Petpositive and other NGOs would also be meeting with Ipoh City Council officials on Tuesday to present Spunk’s case.

“We will request an end to the shooting of animals and advise the council to implement more educational programmes such as teaching people about responsible pet ownership,” he said.

He added that they would also push for a committee to be formed by the council for canine issues and request that funds be set aside for it to build its own dog pound.

Equal rights for disabled too

Equal rights for disabled too

Saturday, November 13th, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR: The government is commited to ensuring that the disabled enjoy equal rights as normal people, in all aspects of life, including employment and accessibility.

Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Senator Heng Seai Kie said, in all national commitments and government policies, the rights of the disabled to have access to employment were constituted.

She said Article 9 of the Convention on the Rights of the Disabled and Section 29 of the Disabled Persons Act 2008 stated the rights of a disabled person to have access to employment on par with others.

To realise these aspirations and objectives, Heng said numerous strategies and programmes were planned and implemented by the government, which included ensuring the placement of disabled people in the civil service and private sector.

The deputy minister was speaking at the opening of the Asia-Pacific Community Based Rehabilition Convention 2010 here today.

The government through its agencies, has also improved on the support system such as job coaching to ensure the disabled obtain employment and remain employed; enhancing training programmes and financing micro credit to assist the disabled in conducting businesses, and offering tax reduction to employers on the cost of renovation to work premises for disabled employees to encourage the private sector to employ more disabled people.

At the same time, the ministry also provided assistance through the soho (small office home office) programme to encourage the disabled to work from home.

Heng said, organising the inaugural convention which was participated by 31 countries, was in accordance with the Government's commitment to empower the people with the 1Malaysia spirit.

An Unforgettable Benchmark For PJ Soon

Story - Courtesy from Petpositive

An Unforgettable Benchmark For PJ Soon

Unanimous thumbs up from everyone

DATELINE: KUALA LUMPUR

MALAYSIAN WITH DISABILITIES had a rare opportunity yesterday to get a glimpse of "a new Petaling Jaya", in the state of Selangor.

"The new city" will be marked by a brand new 12-acre commercial land development area called the PJ Sentral Garden City.

Located in Section 52 in PJ, and currently being occupied by PKNS, the upcoming purpose-built project will feature state-of-the-art disabled-friendly facilities that have never been seen before.

"Wheelchair users will find it a breeze to move about in the area without any barriers with its universal designs," said Michael Simon Karuppiah, executive director of UniMediaNetwork Sdn Bhd based in KL.

Deep in discussion

"And the blind will be able to easily navigate themselves independently in and around the area," added the
UniMediaNetwork consultant for PJ Sentral Development Sdn Bhd who are responsible for the Garden City.

Michael was speaking as chairman at a special dialogue session at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in KL where PJ Sentral conducted a special briefing of their prized project for members of PETPOSITIVE, the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association.

Nearly three dozen people with disabilities and their caregivers turned up for the afternoon half-day function that began after a sumptuous lunch which was treated by the company.

Whilst the majority of participants were in wheelchairs, others included the blind, people with learning disabilities, stroke and the elderly.

Scrumptious lunch

The talk included a slide show featuring an artist's impression of disabled-friendly features in and around the project.

"We are not here only to tell you what we are doing; but also to get your advice on how we can make it even more user-friendly to all of you," said Michael before opening up the floor for feedback.

Almost everyone who turned up spoke.

Several disabled activists thanked the creators of the PJ Sentral Garden City idea for making the needs of the disabled and the elderly a priority concern.

A participant who is paralysed from his neck down said with a lump in his throat:

"Once PJ's Garden City is completed, I will at last be able to celebrate Merdeka (Malaysia's Independence Day) for the first time".

The discussion room

Another wheelchair-user thanked PJ Sentral for caring enough to seek their views first before going ahead with the project.

"In this way, we are able to give you guys valuable input - no developer had gone this far before to do this!" he remarked.

An elderly woman, however, couldn't stop herself from being cynical.

"Please don't blame me for feeling this way," she told PET+BLOGSPOT after the session.

"Many parties had made promises to improve the handicapped's plight but never kept their word in the end," she pointed out.

"Please don't get me wrong; it's clearly wonderful - but I won't believe it until I truly see it - and only then will I congratulate anyone."

The session which was supposed to end at 4pm lasted an extra hour.

Many refused to go home because they were having such a good time.

Most of them had never had a private session like this with a developer previously.

Furthermore, they told PET+BLOGSPOT the news was too good to go back without sharing their reactions to the other participants.

But it was Michael who finally had the last say.

"We are so moved by all that you have shared with us today so much so that we will now seriously think of adding several key persons from your group into a special committee to help us fine-tune the user-friendly details of the project." He concluded.

Imran at a previous function

Earlier Mohd Imran Salim, the director of Gapurna Group Sdn Bhd which PJ Sentral Development Sdn Bhd is a member of, made a brief appearance during the presentation.

Arriving in Malaysia from Autralia a day earlier, Imran announced that the PJ Sentral Garden City project will incorporate Australia's designs on disability accessibility standards in all of its universal designs.

PJ Gardens will, at the same time, engage with local disabled people in order to get their views on the Aussie standards.

The PJ Sentral Garden City is the first project of the Selangor state government's move towards regeneration, rejuvenation and revitalisation.

Petpositive thanks Garpurna Group Sdn Bhd for organising the special lunch-cum-briefing for our members.

Perak mulling use of tranquilliser darts on strays

Thursday November 11, 2010

Perak mulling use of tranquilliser darts on strays

IPOH: The Perak government has asked all local councils in the state to study the feasibility of using tranquilliser darts to put down strays.

However, Local Government committee chairman Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon conceded that the high cost of the darts could hamper its use.

"We will look into the technical aspects (of using the darts), whether it is feasible and cost-effective," he said after visiting the century-old Paloh Khoo Miu Temple here yesterday.

Dr Mah was commenting on the call by the Ipoh Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for authorities to use the darts rather than real bullets to put down strays.

The ISPCA said this would cut down the possibility of guns misfiring and hitting innocent bystanders.

The concern surfaced after city council enforcers shot a 10-year-old licensed therapy dog in Taman Merdeka near here, recently.

The dog, which belonged to a 75-year-old retired teacher, was left unattended while she went into her house to get toilet paper to clean it.

In PUTRAJAYA, the Veterinary Services Department expressed concern and frustration over the killing of the dog. Department director-general Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Jamaluddin said the use of firearms continued even after a national seminar in May 2008 and guidelines on the capture of stray animals were issued to all municipal council officers, NGOs and state veterinary officers.

Dr Abdul Aziz said the department had stopped using firearms in 2008 as a means to control strays as it was found to be inhumane.

In SHAH ALAM, the Selangor state assem-bly heard that dog catching contractors engaged by the Sepang Municipal Council had caught 20,000 dogs in one month earlier this year.

"This means they caught an average of 667 dogs a day," said Sungai Pelek assemblyman Yap Ee Wah.

Yap, who was debating Selangor's 2011 budget, said the contractors had earned a hefty RM700,000 for this as they were paid RM35 for every dog caught. He told reporters later the 20,000 dogs were allegedly caught only in the Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi zone.

Veterinary Department Orders An Immediate End To All Dog-Shooting In Malaysia

Story Courtesy from Petpositive

Veterinary Department Orders An Immediate End To All Dog-Shooting In Malaysia

Internet file pix

DATELINE DEPARTMENT OF VETERINARY SERVICES, PUTRAJAYA:

THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERINARY SERVICES (DVS) has called for an immediate ban on dog-shooting in the entire country.

This follows the senseless shooting to death of a senior therapy dog named "Spunk" in Taman Merdeka by the Ipoh City Council or MBI on October 30th, last month.

Internet file pix

The canine belonged to a 75-year-old retired teacher who is a member of the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (PETPOSITIVE).

"Not only was it an extremely sad and regrettable incident but the killing of an animal that brought only hope and companionship to a senior citizen is inexcusable and a major embarrassment to Malaysia's image internationally," said Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Jamalludin, (right) the Director-General of the DVS.

"The DVS views what happened very seriously," he added to a question put by PET+BLOGSPOT at a press conference this afternoon at the Department of Agriculture building here.

Dr Aziz was speaking at the conclusion of a special open dialogue session this morning in which he served as the chair.

Dr Aziz leading the discussion

The event, which was organised by the DVS, brought together about 30 people from government bodies as well as animal rights and welfare NGOs.

Apart from Petpositive, the other representatives came from the Independent Living and Training Centre (ILTC) in Rawang, Selangor, SPCAs from Selangor and Ipoh, Noah's Ark also from Perak, state and the Malaysian National Animal Welfare Foundation (MNAWF) from Kuala Lumpur.

The MNAWF was represented by its chairman Datuk Dr Mohd Nordin Mohd Nor, a former director-general of the Veterinary Services Department.

Petpositive called for the immediate outlawing of dog-shooting at the meeting. This was echoed by all of the NGOs at the meeting.

Cruel to shoot dogs

"The reason why local councils resort to dog-shooting is to find a quick solution to the problem of strays but this is not an acceptable solution," Dr Aziz pointed out.

"Dog-shooting is not only unnecessary but a cruel practice that is unacceptable in today's world," he added.

"It is also very dangerous as the bullet could strike human beings.

"Councils will no longer be allowed to shoot dogs but only under special situations such as in disease situations; however, it can only be done in very rare cases and under the supervision of qualified veterinarians.

"Councils should instead employ more humane methods to effectively deal with the stray problem by catching them and offering training to their catchers.

"Councils that currently exercise dog-shooting currently should learn from local councils in Selangor, in particular, that have abandoned such practices and now employ humane and more effective methods in stray management.

Dr Aziz says his department will be writing immediately to the MBI to instruct them to cease all dog-shooting.

This will also apply to other local councils in the country that is also engaging in such practices.

A representative of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government who was present at today's meeting said that his department will also do the same.

Speaking to PET+BLOGSPOT after the meeting, Dr Ranjit Kaur from Noah's Ark said she was delighted by the decision of the DVS and the action that will be taken.

"As an advocate who has been actively fighting against canine-shooting in our city for many years, it was truly worth traveling all the way to this meeting."

Beaming also from ear to ear was Dr Goh Hue Lang, the head of SPCA in Ipoh.

"Whilst dog-shooting is going to be a thing of the past, there are still many things to do to solve the problem of stray dogs in the city which we all need to put our heads together in order to find the best solution," she said.

Newcomer to the animal rights movement, Francis Siva, president of ILTC, said he was most impressed with Dr Aziz.

"He came across as a very approachable DG who had an amazing understand of dogs, their behaviour and how best to approach the issue," he noted.

NEXT: DVS TO SET UP AN ANIMAL WELFARE ADVISORY COUNCIL.