20 Mac 2010
to :
malaysiandogsdeservebetter@gmail.comKTM 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
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