STATEMENT FROM KTMB

20 Mac 2010


to : malaysiandogsdeservebetter@gmail.com

KTM BERHAD’S RESPONSE ON MALAYSIAKINI’S ARTICLE ON THE CAPTURE AND TORTURE OF STRAY DOG AT KTM KOMUTER KEPONG SENTRAL STATION

The complaint letter by M.Nisha (Ghastly animal abuse at Kepong KTM Station) in Malaysiakini dated 17 March 2010 is referred. KTM Berhad undoubtedly agrees that animal cruelty is not an acceptable behavior by any sane individual. It is uncivilized and intolerable by any religion and race in the world.

As reported, KTM Berhad has confirmed that the incident took place at KTM Komuter Kepong Sentral Station.

For your information, KTM Berhad, represented by a group of its senior officers, had conducted an investigation and went to see the staff at the said station to get more information as well as to visit the location of the incident. Essentially, the unpleasant incident had nothing to do with Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) or any of its employees. The name of the organisation was quoted indirectly when our counter clerk, who was not really aware of the incident, was asked about the situation. The clerk answered on impulse when he said that the dog was ‘perhaps’ captured and strapped by the officers from DBKL.

Even though his remarks was said by mistake, we are sorry for that he should have had investigated the situation before providing any statement. KTM Berhad is deeply sorry for the situation and would like to apologise to DBKL. It was not our intention to smear the image of DBKL with the incident. We hope DBKL is willing to accept our sincere apology.

With regards to the incident on 15 March 2010, the stray dog was captured by the staff of KTM Berhad with the help from our janitors who work at the station. For your information, the dog has been roaming the station for almost two years, and during that period, KTM Berhad had lodged more than three reports to Majlis Perbandaran Selayang (MPS) via telephone, with the final report made one day before the dog was captured, which was on 14 March 2010.

The necessity to catch the dog was made due to its troubling behavior whereby it had attacked and bitten our passengers at the parking area as well as in front of the KTM Komuter Kepong Sentral Station ticketing counter. However, the attacks and bites did not inflict any serious injuries so far. The last attack was reported on the evening after it was released which involved one Vietnamese passenger. Aside from that, we also found its feces around the platform area and during rainy seasons, the dog posed an inconvenience for the Muslim passengers especially, as its wet fur might touch them.

The decision to capture the dog was made due to the operation requirement, not because of the minister visit as per quoted by our staff. The dog was caught at round 12.00 noon and released at 1.30 pm. According to the staff we investigated, the piece of wood which was claimed shoved into his throat was not true. They did tie the dog to the fence. However, they did not shove the wood into its throat with the intention to torture or inflict injury to the animal. The wood, which was seen in its mouth, was the bait used when they were trying to catch it and the dog kept biting on the end of it. The staff tried to remove it from its jaw but it clamped the wood shut, we only managed to remove it after the second try.

The dog was released because we did not receive any confirmation from MPS to collect the animal. As reported, the dog was still straying around the area after it had been released.

I hope the general public should also appreciate the effort taken by the KTMB staff to address this recurring nuisance towards our KTM Commuter passengers whose patronage and peace has been disturbed by this stray dog. Whilst, we do recognize the method, in this instance, was questionable, it was done purely for the sake and comfort of our passengers. There was no intent of being cruel or to torture the stray dog. Our priority is for the safety and well-being of our passengers.

We will make sure that there will be no similar incident to take place. We have identified more efficient alternatives in handling stray dogs/wild animals, which is by contacting the SPCA and the local authorities to solve the problem at other stations as well.

We do not condone animal cruelty, what more to be a part of the brutality. However, I think the public should also evaluate the original intention it was meant to and not to quickly jump to condemn the method use without understanding the sequence of events. I am sure, all of us, when bitten by a mosquito, will hit it instantly without much thought. Is that considered as cruelty to insects? I know for a fact that, some time ago, when the crows [gagak] cause serious unhealthy situation in Klang, a campaign was mounted to shoot down the crows in a big way when their presence became intolerable. Is there some other way of doing it?

We truly hope that the explanation given is clear and we hope that the incident does not reflect the organisation in general.


Thank you.

Dr Aminuddin Adnan
aminuddin@ktmb.com.my
President
KTMB



20 Mac 2010


to : malaysiandogsdeservebetter@gmail.com



RESPON KTM BERHAD TERHADAP SIARAN MALAYSIA KINI BERKENAAN PENANGKAPAN DAN PENYEKSAAN ANJING LIAR DI STESEN KTM KOMUTER KEPONG SENTRAL

Siaran Malaysiakini oleh M.Nisha (Ghastly animal abuse at Kepong KTM Station) bertarikh 17 Mac 2010 berkenaan perkara di atas adalah di rujuk. KTM Berhad bersetuju tanpa prasangka bahawa perbuatan menyiksa binatang adalah sesuatu yang tidak sepatutnya dilakukan oleh manusia yang mempunyai akal fikiran. Ianya adalah sesuatu yang tidak bertamadun dan tidak dapat diterima oleh mana-mana agama dan bangsa di dunia ini.

Sebagaimana yang dilaporkan, KTM Berhad mengesahkan bahawa ianya berlaku di Stesen KTM Komuter Kepong Sentral.

Untuk makluman, KTM Berhad yang diwakili beberapa pegawai kanan telah melakukan siasatan dalaman pada 18 Mac 2010 dengan memanggil kakitangan berkaitan bagi mendapatkan perincian peristiwa dan melawat ke lokasi kejadian pada 19 Mac 2010. Secara dasarnya, insiden ini tiada kaitan secara langsung dengan penguatkuasa dari Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) atau mana-mana kakitangan dari badan tersebut. Nama DBKL tercetus secara tidak langsung apabila soalan diajukan kepada kakitangan kerani kaunter kami pada hari kejadian yang sebenarnya tidak mendapatkan gambaran jelas berkenaan apa yang berlaku. Beliau secara spontan, ketika ditanya pengadu, menjawab bahawa anjing tersebut ‘berkemungkinan’ ditangkap dan ditambat oleh petugas dari DBKL.

Walaupun ianya dilakukan tanpa sengaja, namun kami kesal kerana beliau sepatutnya menyiasat terlebih dahulu sebelum memberikan sebarang kenyataan. KTM Berhad berdukacita atas situasi ini dan memohon maaf kepada pihak DBKL. Kami tiada niat untuk memburukkan imej DBKL dengan apa yang berlaku dan berharap pihak DBKL dapat menerima permohonan maaf kami.

Berkenaan insiden pada 15 Mac 2010 tersebut, anjing tersebut telah ditangkap oleh kakitangan KTM Berhad dengan bantuan pekerja kontrak pembersihan di stesen tersebut. Untuk makluman, anjing tersebut telah berada di stesen tersebut hampir dua tahun dan di sepanjang tempoh tersebut, KTM Berhad telah membuat lebih dari tiga aduan kepada Majlis Perbandaran Selayang (MPS) melalui telefon dan aduan terakhir dibuat adalah sehari sebelum anjing tersebut ditangkap iaitu pada 14 Mac 2010.

Keperluan kepada menangkap anjing tersebut adalah berdasarkan kewujudannya mengganggu penumpang kerana anjing tersebut pernah menyerang dan menggigit penumpang yang berada di sekitar kawasan meletak kenderaan dan berhadapan kaunter tiket KTM Komuter Kepong Sentral. Walau bagaimanapun serangan dan gigitan oleh anjing tersebut tidaklah sehingga membawa kepada keadaan kecederaan yang serius. Kes terakhir serangan oleh anjing tersebut adalah pada petang selepas ia dibebaskan iaitu serangan ke atas seorang warga Vietnam. Selain itu, anjing tersebut telah banyak kali membuang najisnya di kawasan platform dan ketika waktu hujan, kehadirannya di stesen akan meresahkan penumpang kerana air dari kibasan bulunya akan mengenai penumpang dan ianya suatu kesulitan terutama kepada penumpang beragama Islam.

Keputusan untuk menangkap anjing tersebut bukanlah berdasarkan lawatan menteri seperti dinyatakan namun dibuat atas keperluan operasi. Anjing tersebut yang ditangkap pada jam 12.00 tengahari dan kemudiannya dilepaskan semula pada jam 1.30 petang. Menurut kakitangan yang disoal, kehadiran kayu yang didakwa ditusuk ke kerongkong anjing tersebut adalah tidak benar. Kakitangan terlibat hanya mengikat anjing tersebut di pagar stesen namun tidak memasukkan sebarang kayu pada kerongkong dengan berniat menyiksa atau mencederakannya. Kayu yang dilihat ada pada mulut anjing tersebut hanya umpan untuk menangkapnya dan kayu tersebut telah digigit oleh anjing tersebut di bahagian hujungnya sahaja. Pihak kami telah melakukan dua cubaan untuk mengeluarkan kayu tersebut dan hanya berjaya dikeluarkan pada cubaan kedua kerana gigitan kuat pada kayu oleh anjing tersebut.

Anjing tersebut dilepaskan kembali kerana pihak kami tidak dapat sebarang pengesahan akan kehadiran MPS untuk mengambil anjing ini. Sebagaimana yang dilaporkan, sejurus anjing ini dilepaskan, ianya kembali berkeliaran di kawasan stesen.

Saya berharap orang ramai dapat membuat penilaian yang sewajarnya atas usaha yang telah diambil oleh kakitangan KTMB untuk menangani masalah anjing liar ini yang telah mengganggu ketenteraman penumpang-penumpang KTM Komuter dan menjadi satu nuisance yang berlarutan. Walaupun kaedah yang digunakan oleh kakitangan KTMB mungkin dipertikaikan, ianya dilakukan semata-mata bertujuan untuk menjamin keselamatan dan keselesaan penumpang-penumpang kami dan bukan niat menyiksa haiwan tersebut. Saya rasa kepentingan penumpang adalah prioriti kami.

Pihak kami akan memastikan selepas ini tiada lagi kejadian serupa berlaku. Pihak kami telah mengenal pasti alternatif yang lebih efisien untuk menangani masalah anjing/haiwan liar ini iaitu dengan menghubungi SPCA selain pihak berkuasa tempatan bagi menangani masalah sama di stesen-stesen lain.

Kami sama sekali tidak menyokong perbuatan menzalimi haiwan apatah lagi untuk bersubahat melakukannya. Walaubagaimana pun, saya rasa orang ramai juga perlu menilai tujuan asal langkah yang diambil dan tidak terus menghukum cara ianya dijalankan. Saya rasa semua orang, apabila digigit nyamuk, akan menampar nyamuk tersebut. Adakah itu juga boleh dianggap sebagai satu kekejaman kepada serangga? Setahu saya, satu ketika di Kelang, apabila burung-burung gagak menimbulkan masalah sampah sarap, satu usaha menembak gagak-gagak tersebut telah dijalankan secara besar-besaran untuk mengatasi masalah itu. Adakah cara penyelesaian yang lain?

Kami berharap agar penjelasan diberi adalah jelas dan memohon agar apa yang berlaku tidak dijadikan kayu ukur kepada sifat organisasi ini secara keseluruhannya.

Terima kasih.


Dr Aminuddin Adnan
aminuddin@ktmb.com.my
President
KTMB

What's going on.........

Just when we thought we can take a short break from advocacy and update our supporters about our rescue work - this crops up. We are shocked and appalled that human beings can actually resort to such cruelty. The letter says the six young people were told that the dog had been tied-up like that for quite a while - didn't it kick the conscience of the people who had passed by? Our rescuer friend Miza Nordin says she will go an look for the dog this evening as it definetely needs medical attention. The stick has also been identified as the pole used by council dog catchers. So, there must be truth that the dog was tied in that position by DBKL workers. We called KTM and its public relations officer Fazil said he too was shocked with the pictures. He has asked for emails to be directed to him and said he would redirect them all to the KTMB president.

Here's the letter which appeared in Malaysiakini. Take a look at the picture.

M Nisha
Mar 17, 10
4:43pm

I am writing because of a grievous incident that took place on Monday, March 15 at about 3pm at Kepong Central KTM Station. My friends and I (six of us) were there to take the train to the Bank Negara station.

After parking our cars, we heard a dog howling, more like a painful cry. Then, we noticed a dog being tied to the grill (steel fence) of the KTM station. As we approached the dog, we stood aghast at the sight.

The stray dog's leg and neck was tied very tightly to the grill and a piece of wood had been shoved down inside its throat! The dog was bleeding and its feces were all around it. The string was attached to a pole in the KTM station.

Immediately, we confronted the KTM workers. They said that it was done by Kuala Lumpur City Hall workers because a minister was to be visiting the station next week. They failed to explain further.

At once, we called the SPCA and the Paws animal welfare society. The SPCA responded efficiently by informing us that an animal control officer would be there soon. We made a slight commotion in front of the KTM station but the KTM workers were not concerned at all.

After about an hour, as we were returning to the KTM Kepong Central Station, we received a call from the SPCA officer stating that the dog was now not tied up and was moving around. When we arrived, the dog was limping. The same KTM workers avoided us as we tried to confront them. A passer-by told us that the dog has been that way for quite some time.

The SPCA officer could not capture the dog as it walked away for quite a distance. He advised us to write to the media and to the SPCA as well.

Doenn't our country's animal rights support the idea that an animal has the right to live its life without being harmed and hurt by humans? We realize that people define the meaning of animal rights and abuse in different ways but aren't the citizens of our country merciful?

This dog could have been just put to sleep if it had been harming the public or causing a nuisance. Why stick a wooden stick down its throat?


So people, its back to pushing for justice again.

KTMB - write to:

fazil@ktmb.com.my
Fazil - 03- 22631106

DEWAN BANDARAYA

DATUK BANDAR KUALA LUMPUR
Y. Bhg. Datuk Seri Ahmad Fuad Bin Ismail
Datuk Bandar Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 603-2617 9070
datukbandar@dbkl.gov.my

En. Mohamad Salleh bin Abdullah
Pegawai Khas I Datuk Bandar
Tel: 603-2617 9075

En. Md Aznan bin Md. Zain
Pegawai Khas II Datuk Bandar
Tel: 603-2617 9066

DBKL's man in charge of dog catching

Dr. Zainol Ariffin bin Pawanchee
603-2027 5301

Aduan DBKL:

03-2617 9925
03-2617 9936
dbkl@dbkl.gov.my

Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry (Under which DBKL falls)

Minister
YB. Dato' Raja Nong Chik
bin Dato' Raja Zainal Abidin
rnc@kwp.gov.my
03-88897878


Roslima bt. Muhammad
Pembantu Khas Menteri
roslima@@kwp.gov.my

Zainor binti Mohd Nor
Pembantu Tadbir (Kesetiausahaan) Menteri
zainor@kwp.gov.my

Shazril Fariza bin Faridam
Setiausaha Sulit Kanan
shazril@kwp.gov.my


Deputy Minister

YB. Datuk M. Saravanan
Timbalan Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan
Dan Kesejahteraan Bandar
03-88897998
saravanan@kwp.gov.my

Suria Kumar a/l Subramaniam
Setiausaha Sulit Kanan Timbalan Menteri
03-88897997
sooria@kwp.gov.my


Deputy Minister in charge of public complaints at the Prime Minister's Department

Datuk T. Murugiah
murugiah@pmo.gov.my

PUBLIC COMPLAINTS BUREAU - PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT MALAYSIA - You can make online complaints
http://www.pcb.gov.my/
http://apps1.pcb.gov.my/eApps/bpaiaducmpl/AduCmplPublic/add.do?aplCode=en

STUPIDO

FROM DOGMEAT .ORG

FOOD?

Veterinary Services Department (DVS) deputy directorgeneral, Datuk Dr Ahmad Suhaimi Omar, suggests that stray dogs held at pounds be sold for human consumption as a method of stray management.

There has been many rumblings for some time now that the dogs were indeed being sold at the pounds. But we have no proof. But anyone worth his or her salt would know that no dog meat restaurant owner, who is in his right frame of mind, would dare serve his customers stray dogs with questionable health issues.

Is this why pet dogs and pedigrees are targeted - so that there is assurance that they have 'healthy' meat to serve their customers?

This is a point to ponder - has Ahmad Suhaimi let the cat out of the bag and not merely made a suggestion as everyone is made to believe?

Thanks to Siti Ruqayyah Chan for bringing this link to attention.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4p1tk_dogs-china-raw-5_animals

China is mulling at passing legislation to counter this and Ahmad Suhaimi Omar wants dog eating to be a norm here.

Does he want our Malaysian community to regress?

Does he want to promote what we see in the link here in Malaysia?

Shame on you Ahmad Suhaimi Omar, shame on you!

The Veterinary Services Department comes under the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry,

Y.B. DATO' HAJI NOH BIN OMAR
MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRO-BASED INDUSTRY
noh@moa.gov.my

Y.B. SENATOR DATO' SRI SHAHRIZAT ABDUL JALIL
MINISTER OF WOMEN, FAMILY AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
shahrizat@kpwkm.gov.my

Deputy Minister in charge of public complaints at the Prime Minister's Department
Datuk T. Murugiah
murugiah@pmo.gov.my

PUBLIC COMPLAINTS BUREAU - PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT MALAYSIA - You can make online complaints
http://www.pcb.gov.my/
http://apps1.pcb.gov.my/eApps/bpaiaducmpl/AduCmplPublic/add.do?aplCode=en