VIDEO | 5:08 mins

Animal rights NGOs and concerned individuals are now worried that the dogs and cats in a shelter run by Muhammad Azmi Ismail in Kedah will be put to sleep by the Alor Setar City Council if Muhammad is evicted by Sept 19.

Several NGOs and 15 supporters of the shelter owner, who is widely known as Pak Mie, gathered in Alor Setar today to urge the city council to extend its eviction notice by several months to give Pak Mie time to relocate.

NONE Malaysian Animal Welfare Society president Shenaaz Khan ( right ) said the eviction notice was unreasonable as the council should consider the content of the premises before evicting Pak Mie and the animals he has been caring for.

"They must think of re-homing, relocating and transferring and not just disposing of or destroying the animals. We are dealing with lives here, not objects," she told a press conference today.

"They may not have the capacity, nor the capability, to deal with the dogs for we do not think they have a pound. Destroying the animals is totally unacceptable," she added.

Accompanying her at the event were Alor Setar MP Gooi Hsiao Leung, former state secretary Dzaher Ahmad, SPCA Kedah representative V Devi and SoS (Penang) spokesperson April Sham, as well as Pak Mie and his wife Intan.

Gooi said he would be meeting with the Alor Setar City Council tomorrow to negotiate a solution to the matter.

Facebook page petition started

"The council has a moral and social responsibility to see to the welfare of the animals as we are dealing with 800 lives here. They must deal with this issue in a humane way," he said.

NONE Gooi ( left ) has started a Facebook page petition to urge the council to extend the eviction notice to allow Pak Mie to find a suitable home for his animals.

April said Pak Mie and his wife Intan have contributed greatly to society by caring for the animals, which now number around 800 (700 dogs and 100 cats).

"None of us have done what they did. Can you even keep seven dogs in your home? Why can't we do something to support his work?" April asked.

"When they evict Pak Mie and his animals, are they going to feed or kill the dogs and cats? If they kill them, they will be condemned by all of Malaysia," she said, emotionally.

"Do they want support or condemnation from the people? The choice is up to them," she added, while those present applauded her for saying this.

"Pak Mie is not asking to stay forever on the land, he is exploring his options and finding another area, so it is reasonable for the council to give an extension," she stressed.

Devi said Pak Mie, in running the shelter for about five years now, has been doing the work of the city council by keeping stray dogs and cats off the streets.

"The relevant parties should help him. As NGOs, we can give him some advice but we cannot take the animals," Devi said when asked whether the NGOs could adopt the animals.

A dog lover from Sungai Petani, Arycia Ng, said she came to support Pak Mie as she herself owns a pet and understands the hardship he was going through.

"Dogs are like human beings, and are very loyal, Pak Mie has done a great job caring for his brood. If he can no longer care for his animals, can we find 800 households to adopt them?" Ng asked.

"The city council should have thought if all these matters before sending him the notice," she added, vowing to help Pak Mie with his problems.

NONE Pak Mie said he would be considering land space in a Chinese or Siamese settlement instead of a Malay kampung as his work was not acceptable to his community.

He had acquired a two-hectare plot of land 3km from Kuala Nerang but had to stop renovating the place when he was issued a warning notice from the Padang Terap district office for wrongfully breeding animals in the area.

"I went to a Malay kampung because I am a Malay. I thought I can educate them about animals, about dogs, but I was wrong. Since they are complaints from my own community, I hope to find a place in a Chinese or Siamese village," he said.

Later, after the press conference, Pak Mie told Malaysiakini, "These days, I am going around Alor Setar to look for a suitable piece of land. I hope to find a plot soon."