Penang state executive councillor Abdul Malik Kassim said no action will be taken against the organisers of a dog adoption drive at which a Muslim woman was photographed carrying a puppy.

 

Maliik, who is in charge of Islamic affairs, said no punishment would be imposed on the Malay woman who was depicted carrying a dog at the event.

 

"Islam is universal, our religion preaches love, not only for mankind but for animals and the environment too," Malik said when contacted.

 

"In Islam, this is known as Rahmatan Lil Alamin. In Islam, there are clear guidelines on how to do this," the PKR Batu Maung assemblyperson told Malaysiakini .

 

Malik ( right ) was responding to state Umno Youth chief Rafizal Abdul Rahim who urged the Penang Islamic Religious Department (JAINPP) to investigate the event, jointly organised by Save Our Strays (SOS) and students from Han Chiang College.

 

"We regret, and are disappointed and angry, and condemn the programme because we feel there is a hidden agenda by certain parties after the 'I Want Touch A Dog' programme last year," Bernama quoted Rafizal as saying.

 

The 'I Want to Touch a Dog' event in Kuala Lumpur - which drew a large Muslim crowd - courted controversy when organiser Syed Azmi Alhabshi was hauled up by the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department.

 

The dog adoption drive was held at the Penang Times Square in George Town last Sunday.

A photograph of a tudung-clad Malay woman holding a puppy, taken by a participant, went viral on social media.

 

This prompted an anonymous Facebook community page - Penang Kini - to slam the event, claiming the photograph which went viral had hurt the sensitivities of Muslims.

 

SOS founder April Sham denied that the programme involved Muslims touching dogs and demanded that Penang Kini apologises for linking the event to religion and tarnishing its noble efforts to raise awareness about stray dogs.

 

Target group non-Muslims

 

Meanwhile, Han Chiang College chief executive Chow Yong Neng said the ‘Opt To Adopt’ event on March 4 to 8 was part of extra-curricular activities of the students and this was included in their school assignments.

 

"The event’s main objective is to encourage non-Muslims to adopt strays, to reduce the number of stray dogs," Chow said in a statement.

 

"During the event, a total of 10 stray dogs were adopted.”

 

"Students involved were all non-Muslims and the event proposal had specifically mentioned that our target group is non-Muslim," Chow stressed.

 

Chow said the college's co-organiser SOS and venue sponsor, Penang Times Square, also fully understood the nature of the event.

 

"The event was organised in a public area, we are not aware there was a Muslim lady holding a dog," Chow said.

 

"The lady is not our student and we do not know her. The photo was not taken by us," he added.