Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had the golden opportunity of educating Malaysians in particular about loving and caring for street animals such as cats and dogs, but regrettably he failed to seize the moment.

Buying a kitten from the market was the first error on Najib’s part. He should have taken the trouble instead of visiting animal shelters like PAWS and SPCA with the purpose of giving a cat from one of these shelters a home. Instead, Najib’s kitten-buying stint became a political affair and that, too, ridiculously under the 1Malaysia banner. What has 1Malaysia got to do with a kitten?