Leo_ShihTzu
Novice
May 2, 2006, 5:43 PM
Post #17 of 31
(23596 views)
Shortcut
|
Re: [fuikiaw] Apartment banned dogs
[In reply to]
|
Can't Post
|
|
Forumers, I copied this blog wrote by Malay. Why are dogs singled out by MPSJ? Alfean Abu Bakar, Petaling Jaya I am a bumiputera and I have a bone to pick with our local council by-laws. It concerns my dog. Yes, I own a dog and - like any conscientious dog owner - I am not too happy that the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) requires pet owners to obtain neighbours' written consent before issuing dog licences. I understand that the MPSJ is merely following what the Johor Bahru City Council had already done a while back. I'm very afraid that these two councils will set a precedent soon to be followed by other councils, including the one where I live. I try to understand the inherent rationale for this: that dogs are deemed by some Muslims as 'haram' animals, and thus branded, dirty to an extreme degree. Muslims are to stay clear of them in order to retain and preserve their spiritual cleanliness. Yet I have come to the view that dogs are not dirty animals. Personally, I think it is yet another irrevocable step towards entrenching Malay-Muslim prejudices into our daily lives. Dogs - and the apparently second-class citizens who love them, I feel - are really being victimised in this country. Don't believe me? Go take a walk in any park in PJ and you'll eventually come across the MPPJ by-laws posted on a signboard. Read it carefully and you'll discover that you can go to jail a year for walking your dog in the park! Furthermore, in Putrajaya, that pinnacle of Malay civilisation, horses can trot through its parks but no other animals are allowed. Presumably, you can also walk your little pony in the many other public parks, like those in Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur, where 'No dogs [are] allowed'. Are dogs are such pariah animals that they should sully the pristine perfection of our parks? Don't horses poop on park pathways too? Are pet rabbits/hamsters/cats any better? Chew on this: My next door neighbours - an old Chinese couple - have seven cats, three of which are kittens. One of their adult cats is now also pregnant. When she gives birth, there could be 10 cats or more in their house. Why is my written permission not required for them to obtain a dozen cat licences and tags? Hey, MPSJ and MPPJ, want to collect more funds? Issue licences to cat owners too! At the rate that cats breed, the council is sitting on a potential goldmine. But I digress. My neighbours' animals are such a nuisance to the neighbourhood. They take a dump in my and other people's gardens (do I have to remind anyone how badly cat **** smells?) and rummage through the garbage bins. And I'm not the only one feeling frustrated, I've even seen one neighbour from down the road fling her slipper from off her foot at them out of sheer exasperation. My own father, bless him, loves to tend his garden but his sensitive skin gets the rashes after each weekend of gardening due to the faeces of cats that strayed from the same next door neighbour's. Yet, no legislation exists to control animals like these. And no such legislation will probably be considered. The question I want to know is why? Why are dogs singled out? Are they not the first wild animals to be domesticated by humans? Are they not man's 'best friend'? Aren't specially trained trekking and sniffing dogs not used by the police in some of its public-safety programmes? Are dogs so inherently dangerous that we need protection from them? If so, why are there no laws out there against the keeping of tarantulas, snakes, piranhas and other dangerous pets? Heck, I should have gotten a pet alligator and walked him on a leash in a PJ park. Under the by-laws, I couldn't be fined or thrown in jail. Hmmm ... I wonder if I can get a domesticated croc at my local pet store? One thing is for sure, if I believed in re-incarnation and were to be reborn as a puppy in karmic retribution for my cardinal sins, it would have to be either in Korea, Vietnam (where dogs are eaten) or Malaysia for maximum penance. It's a tough call as to which place is the greater punishment. Cheerz Leo the Shih Tzu - Pekingese & Lhasa Apso -
|