5th June 2008: World Environment Day 2008

Today I had a welcome respite from work in the form of a CETDEM seminar on the topic of "Between Bali and Poznan: Concrete Actions on Climate Change".

The first part of the seminar consisted of a diplomatic dialogue on actions and policies executed by different nations to cut carbon emissions. Encouraging though the statements made by the ambassadors of the Netherlands, the UK, Australia, India, Singapore and Malaysia were, we must, however, remember that they are diplomats and it is their duty to accord their countries the highest praise possible.

It was during the first coffee break that the journo from The Star text messaged me to inform me that the interview in conjunction with World Environment Day had been published in the special pullout today.

You can read the article here:
Green Every Day Pullout


(Photo reproduced without permission from The Star, but in accordance with the principles of fair use)

And sweet mother of dog, it was mortifying. There were so many errors that I didn't know where to start.

Here are a few of my complaints:
1. Being the Coordinator of the Green Living Group isn't my job. It's a volunteer position.
2. I have never exhorted consumers not to buy organic products or energy saving appliances. I spend a significant amount on organic products. What I actually said was: "Don't miss the forest for the trees. Don't, for a start, clean your house with lemons air-flown from Florida and olive oil shipped from the Mediterranean. That makes no environmental sense. Invest in a locally-produced, consumer-reviewed organic cleaning agent. There are many brands sold under multi-level marketing schemes like Amway, CNI and Cosway. Buy it in the largest size with the least packaging possible, and use it for all your cleaning needs. Don’t buy 10 cleaning agents to do 10 different jobs."
3. The reporter has listed all the piddling idiotic inconsequential actions I have done, but not the important ones. I actually recommended carrying out simple Household Energy, Water, Fuel, Waste and Food Wastage audits by listing areas and circumstances in which wastage occurs, and minimising opportunities for wastage until you find you have made significant savings.
4. I never uttered the words: "It's a constant challenge." Why should it be a fricking challenge? Conservation is fun and exciting and easy as all hell. What I said was: "Goals should not remain stagnant. Continue to challenge your own goals once you have achieved them to reach higher standards and attain greater good. For instance, if you have managed to reduce your electricity bill by 10%, keep at it, and add on the goal of cutting down your petrol/diesel use by 10%."
5. I was never so arrogant as to claim that my friends have started carrying cloth bags and bringing their own reusable takeout food containers because of me. I said that many of my friends are greener than I am, and we learn from each other and share information and resources. I also happened to mention that they take public transport, bring their own cloth shopping bags and takeout containers and audit their resource use as well.

I'm sure the reporter was very well-meaning and diligent, and they had to cut out a lot of superfluous information, but this article has caused others to question my credibility as the Green Living Coordinator.

What a game of Chinese Whispers this has turned out to be! I think I'll decline any offers to be interviewed in future and be incognito henceforth.

31st May -2nd June 2008: Cosmic Blues

There doesn't seem to be very much I want to say these days, except that my career these days seems to be much like the climate change conferences -- full of good intentions and motivation, but stymied by many factors and not really going anywhere.

It's been another busy weekend at the SPCA. I finally got Halle's kittens vaccinated. I've renamed them Chip, Tigger, Java, Jewel, Jet and Gypsy. It's easier to identify them now compared to when they were named Heidi, Hayden, Heath, Henry, Harriet and Heather. The babies should be ready for adoption in 2 weeks.

Rose and I have been washing, grooming and tick-washing the kennel dogs each week, so we have fewer cases of parasitic infection at the shelter now. I'm sure the garlic works too. This week, we bathed the bow-wows from Maternity and Kennel E.

Spent the later 3 hours scrubbing and disinfecting the Cattery, Kennels, Maternity Kennels, Reception/Admin area and central area, after the gates had been locked and the dogs let out to play in the compound and playground.

Went back to the Bachelor Officers' Quarters at night and cleaned myself and the kitties up. Went back to the parental home to spend the rest of the weekend with the parents and Amber.

The parents were to go to Singapore for a few days to help Big Bro and Sis-in-law get their new home cleaned up and their things unpacked, and I was to bring Amber back to live with me in the 'Quarters for a week.

Spent Sunday cleaning the parental home, cleaning the venetian blinds and bathing Amber. Amber and I arrived at the 'Quarters at 2230h on Sunday and I proceeded to get her settled down.

Unfortunately, Halle was utterly hostile to Amber, and provoked my poor sweet doggie, which caused her to erupt in a frenzy of confused and frustrated barking. We had no respite from the barking that night, and so I arranged to have Halle, Keisha and Co. farmed out to a fosterer's house for a week to ease the tension. Amber was happy with the arrangement, as she gets along well with the indoor cats, Chloe, Pixie and Daisy.

Thankfully, my friend was happy to board the cats and had his spare room all cleaned out for them. The initial arrangement was for me to come over after work each day to clean up after the cats, but the foster family had gamely taken on that responsibility too, for which I am touched and grateful.

Here’s to another challenging week ahead.

Sultan of Selangor's Royal Vision Applauded

Work in Progress: Klang Royal Gardens
(Photo reproduced without permission from The Star, but in accordance with the principles of fair use)

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: SULTAN OF SELANGOR’S ROYAL VISION APPLAUDED

The Regent of Selangor's vision and wisdom in directing the appointed landscape consultant of the Klang Royal Garden to omit expensive structures, retain existing trees, and plant fruiting and flowering trees (Metro, 27th May) has earned His Royal Highness our deepest respect and admiration.

HRH's official edict against the wastage of public funds is highly welcome, especially in the state of Selangor, where colossally expensive yet utterly inessential 'projects', such as Subang Jaya’s 3C Complex and Millennium Park, invariably end up being the bugbear of the taxpayers.

Of greater interest to nature-lovers is our Sultan's directive to plant flowering and fruiting plants, mostly indigenous, to attract local fauna. Not only will an urban park such as the Klang Royal Garden act as a natural air filtration and temperature control system, it could also be an ersatz wildlife habitat. Such a park will provide the local community with aesthetic pleasure as well as opportunities for contact with the natural environment.

Urban parks need more shade trees, and not man-made structures, to provide the local community and park visitors with respite from the heat, pollution and traffic of the city.

Unfortunately, the management bodies of many public spaces do not share the Sultan's farsightedness. At the Dengkil Rest Area along the Elite Highway, for instance, the trees are so closely cropped into topiary shapes that they afford no shade for vehicles and tired highway users, and no perching space for birds and insects.

In discussions with local authorities, nature-based non-profit organisations have always recommended the planting of indigenous fruiting and flowering trees. The typical official response is that such trees are 'messy'. However, if the labour force contracted to prune the trees into topiary shapes could be redirected instead to sweep up and compost the plant waste from the trees, there is no good economic or practical reason why native trees could not replace topiary or artificial plants in our cities and along our highways.

Our city and local councils would be well-advised to take a leaf from the Sultan of Selangor's book and provide more space for, and bring greater positive attention to, our native flora and fauna.


WONG EE LYNN
PETALING JAYA, SELANGOR

Legislation Must Address Treatment of Captive Wildlife

LETTER TO THE EDITOR
LEGISLATION MUST ADDRESS TREATMENT OF CAPTIVE WILDLIFE

The current review of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 is a timely and necessary one, as it is bedeviled by loopholes and inadequacies.

One of the deficiencies of the 1972 Act is that it is incapable of preventing or correcting animal abuse or neglect.

Section 94 of the Act states that; "Save as otherwise provided in section 56, every person who wounds or provokes any wild animal with the object of availing himself of the exception conferred by section 56, is guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable (in addition to any other penalty provided for any other offence) to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months or to both."

Section 56 relates to the killing of wildlife in self-defence, if there is an "immediate danger to human life".

No section of the Act is devoted to preventing cruelty to and neglect of wildlife in captivity, for instance, in zoos and amusement parks. Thus there are no legislative means of protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of wildlife as long as they are not actively being killed or injured and visibly 'provoked'. Many commercial establishments may therefore keep wildlife in deplorable conditions with impunity.

A case in point is the A Famosa Resort in Melaka. Visitors were offered photo opportunities with a tiger, which was chained to the stage by its ankles with negligible room for movement.

Although some visitors were appalled by the manner in which the majestic tiger was displayed, under the law there was nothing they could do as long as the resort management had the requisite permits to keep and display wild animals, which were more often than not granted by PERHILITAN on 'educational' grounds.

The Act does not regulate the way in which captive wildlife may be displayed or treated, and although PERHILITAN admits that there were guidelines on how wildlife display facilities may be operated, the said document had not been given statutory footing. There is therefore no action one can take against establishments which confine wildlife in small and unsuitable enclosures, subject wildlife to stressful training or photo opportunity sessions and stop wildlife from engaging in their natural behaviour.

The penalty under section 94 is derisory when one considers that the offence is of wounding or provoking wildlife. Thus under our outdated law, an offender may get away with a mere fine for grievously injuring an animal, while a profiteer who confines, chains and otherwise fails to provide a healthy and stimulating environment for our national symbol, the tiger, will not even be charged with an offence.

There is little merit in issuing permits to private commercial establishments to display wildlife. Wildlife photo opportunities do not teach visitors anything about the natural history of the particular animal and fail miserably in cultivating love and concern for animals.

Visitors who do have their photos taken are motivated by curiosity or a perverse need to 'prove' human dominance. The more enlightened tourists leave the establishment only to render less-than-favourable reviews of the zoos and parks in question on tourism and animal welfare host sites.

Legislators must take immediate steps to safeguard our fast-vanishing natural heritage, while PERHILITAN and other bodies entrusted with the regulation of the wildlife trade must be more circumspect in the issuing of permits and be more vigilant in the monitoring of wildlife displays.

WONG EE LYNN
PETALING JAYA, SELANGOR

Postcard: Glad You Weren't Here!

24th – 25th May 2008: Postcard – Glad You Weren’t Here!

It would have been a good weekend for me if I didn’t have to attend the office annual bowling tournament. I would have gone to the SPCA, bade goodbye to Felicity, collected the cage and had another stray cat neutered. I would have put in 5 – 6 hours of volunteer work before going back to the parental home.

Unfortunately, in the interests of fostering camaraderie and goodwill, we all had to drive down to the A Famosa Resort in Melaka for the infernal bowling game. There is nothing amicable or peaceable about these games. Such events are almost invariably fraught with vicious backstabbing, quarrelling and allegations of cheating or rough play.

It was with reluctance that I made the journey to A Famosa Resort. Like most other amusement parks and holiday resorts in Malaysia, it has seen better days. The golf course was overgrown with weeds and the timeshare apartments were mostly vacant. There was a desolate shabbiness about the place.

The Cowboy Town in which the bowling alley was located was just as bad. Migrant workers in Western getup greeted us with a kind of desperation. Will you buy a souvenir? Have a cold beer? Shoot a few bottles off a wall for a made-in-China stuffed animal?

The workers were only just opening up the bowling alley for us. The air conditioning wasn't working but the 'fridge stocked with overpriced sodas was running beautifully. The rugrats (my workmates' children), succumbing to the resort management's devious machinations, began to scream blue murder for soda.

The game began hours after it was supposed to have commenced. I fared badly as my heart wasn't in the game. I played much better with the 4x4 team and the Parents, but playing in a pointless tournament just doesn't float my boat. (If it were a Sudoku or Scrabble showdown or a public speaking competition, however, I would be singing a very different tune).

Despite all appearances, I am not usually a competitive person. Nature thrives on cooperation and collaboration, not competition. Success isn't about defeating the next person, it's about achieving your objectives and doing it well. So a bowling tournament has little context for me. I don't know whose pride or honour or survival I am bowling for. How could a bowling victory help me improve myself as a person, or help society at large or the animal world or the natural environment?

It must have been a while since the alley was last used, because a fluorescent light fitting fell off in the middle of my team's lane and the computer system in 4 out of 10 lanes were faulty. The air conditioning was still out and everyone began to smell positively vile.

Even the Boss had to throw in the towel after his team had completed the first set and admit that the place was a dump. We'd have to play all over again in one of the better sports facilities in the city. Oh joy. Yet another weekend squandered against my will on "office sports".

There was a miniscule shopping arcade in the Cowboy Town offering substandard made-in-China goods. Worse, there was a tiger chained to a stage for photo opportunities. His paws were shackled to the floor and he looked either sedated or unwell. When we made eye contact, his sense of despair was palpable. How could people be so cowardly and so cruel as to display our national symbol, the Malayan Tiger, this way?

Visitors had to pay to have a photo taken with the poor tiger, and I chose to forgo getting photographic evidence of this instance of animal cruelty so that I wouldn't be aiding and abetting wildlife abuse and enriching the management.

(As at Tuesday, 27th May 2008, I had sent out Letters to the Editor to the major newspapers, had notified the Tiger Crime Hotline and had e-mailed the Wildlife Department upon Loretta's advice. Thanks, Loret.)

Was in no mood for dinner and went back to KL immediately after the game, drenched in sweat though I was.

Reached the Bachelor Officers' Quarters, fed and cleaned up after the cats, cleaned the 'Quarters and crashed into bed. It's been a terrible waste of a Saturday.

Went back to the parental home on Sunday morning. My cousin, Boy Scout, had come to stay for the weekend. Had lunch with the family, gave Amber a bath, took Amber and Cody on walks, cleaned the parental home, read the papers, sent Boy Scout off to get his bus back to college and went back to the 'Quarters in the evening.

I still think it is a waste of a weekend.

Vesak Day Weekend

Woke up on Sunday to find that Cody had messed up his cage in the night, but was otherwise alright and did not whimper the night away. Gave Amber a bath. Cleaned the parental home and polished the furniture. Went to the Buddhist Maha Vihara with the parents in the afternoon for Vesak Day Eve prayers. Took Amber out on a car drive in the evening. Had dinner with the parents, cleaned the kitchen and spent the rest of the night reading.

Monday was a public holiday on account of Vesak Day. The parents had a friend’s 60th birthday party to attend, so I had the house to myself for a few hours. Washed the rugs, cleaned the blinds, mopped the floor, tidied the house and played with the dogs. Took Amber on a car ride and a walk again. Went back to the ‘Quarters after dinner and spent Monday night cleaning the ‘Quarters, doing the laundry and cleaning the cats’ cages.

Felicity would have been spayed earlier today (Monday). I hope she is recovering well and not in any great pain or discomfort. I’ll probably send my housemate over to the SPCA on Thursday to look in on Felicity, as he will be helping me bring Halle & Co. in for neutering. I’m not usually emotional but I feel as though Biggles is flying loops in his confounded Sopwith Camel in my heart right now.

Project Second Chance would like to thank all its donors, sponsors and volunteers for their contributions, assistance and kind support:
1. Bernadette Chin
2. Lillian Danielle Khoo
3. Serina Rahman
4. Zawalan Razak
5. Jacobus Raj
6. Jessica Ng
7. Susan Thomas
8. Hazel McClure
9. Lee Mun Yee

Whiskey-Echo-Lima, Out.

Felicity Gets Adopted

It will soon be time for Halle and her kittens to have their first vaccination, so I am taking a break from capturing other stray cats for neutering for a couple of weeks. This week marks my 3rd week of trying to find my lovely little Felicity a good home.

Stopped by the wet market on my way to the SPCA to pick up the usual 2 kilos of peeled garlic. Arrived at the SPCA and set up Felicity’s cage and signboard. Handed the garlic to Mazni for cooking. Mun Yee dropped by to hand over cat food and newspapers to me for Project Second Chance.

Rose and I started shampooing and grooming the dogs in Kennels A and B. I prepared a pail of tickwash to rinse them with. It was sorely needed because a few of the new arrivals had infested the others with fleas. We had a teenager helping us, which is very encouraging, but I was concerned that the girl was immersing her hands unprotected into the bucket of tickwash, and so I offered to either lend her my rubber gloves or have her not do the tick rinse. She opted not to touch the tickwash instead.

After we had done all the dogs in Kennels A and B, I went out to the front of the shelter to get the cleaning equipment. I discussed the spaying of Felicity with Dr. Pushpa and she agreed that Felicity could be safely neutered by Monday. I held Felicity for a while and promised her that if she were not adopted, I would bring her home after her neutering.

A young family arrived to try to adopt a companion for their kitten which was adopted earlier from the SPCA. They had hoped to get a Persian kitten for breeding later, and this made Reve impatient. The vets and I took over from Reve and explained the SPCA’s neutering requirement to the family. They were happy to comply after being informed of the benefits of neutering, and were content to adopt any active and friendly kitten as a companion. As I spoke to them, I realized they were quite experienced in caring for multiple cats. I introduced them to Felicity, but also invited them to look around the shelter to see if there were any cats they would like to bring home.

They came back to Felicity and were very keen to adopt her, as they wanted an active and friendly cat, and Felicity fitted the bill. I explained that Felicity was to be neutered on Monday, and they could always place a booking fee for her and pick her up next Saturday after she has recovered from the surgery. They agreed, and paid the adoption fee in full without hesitation. They had no problems with the one-week wait and promised to bring their other kitty over for neutering when they come over on Saturday.

After the family had paid up and left, I hugged Felicity and told her that I would always love her. I will never forget her, but I pray she forgets me; and forgets me soon, so she could learn to love her new family instead. I pray she will live a healthy, happy and long life, and promised that if she ever gets returned, I will come and get her and bring her home, no matter what. As an animal rescuer, I will have to get used to having to say goodbye to my animal wards very often, but I pray that it will always only be ‘good’ goodbyes – ones that precede adoptions by kind and responsible individuals – and not the ‘other’ kind of goodbyes.

Dr. Pushpa asked me to put Felicity in the surgery to rest because Felicity’s constant contact with me would only make the transition more difficult. Reluctantly, I said goodbye and godspeed to Felicity and closed the door on my beloved kitty. I will always bless the day I found her begging at the stalls with her eyes half-blind from infection. I bless the day she came into my life and I hope her new family feels the same way about her.

Proceeded to clean the shelter. Soaped, scrubbed, disinfected and washed the Cattery, Maternity Kennels, Admin/Reception area, puppy kennels and food preparation area. Sugen offered to do the rinsing when I was done so I could clean myself up and head on home.

The drive home felt so lonesome without Felicity playing with her jingle ball in her carrier on the backseat. I reached the Bachelor Officers’ Quarters, fed and cleaned up after the cats, tidied the house, showered and drove over to Jessica’s dad’s house to pick up the puppy. I had wanted to name him Ruffus but the parents wanted Cody, which is a pleasantly masculine name and I am certain Cody is a name any dog will feel proud to respond to.

Reached the parental home around dinnertime, introduced Cody to the parents and Amber, had dinner, did the washing up and spent the rest of the night in the company of the dogs.