I'm no dog eater, Guan Eng bites back
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has expressed regret that he had been accused of eating dog meat by animal lovers, who have flooded his social media sites with hate messages.
“I regret to say that they have spewed lies to say I eat dog meat, saying that is why I gave instructions to cull strays to prevent the outbreak of rabies in the state,” he told a press conference today.
He was referring to Twitter remarks by one Alliscia Tan (@ Alice) who said "Saw almost no dogs in Penang for the past few days. Wonder what is @limguaneng up to. Cooking dog meat in Komtar? Yucks!"
“These animal lovers should accept that human lives are important, if they do not accept this, I cannot do anything, as my duty is to humans,” Lim said.
He said this after meeting with three dog bite victims at his office today. They are Prabagan Selvanurai, 31, Mohd Omar Hussairi Mohd Yusri, 11, and Lee Gam Chai, 65.
He offered the trio RM500 cash each, and said “dog bite victims come from people of all ethnic groups”.
Lim also refuted a news report in an English language daily today which quoted an emergency doctor's remark that a photo of a dog bite victim posted on his Facebook was not true, saying that the victim was treated at the Penang General Hospital on Sept 23.
He urged animal rights groups to deal with facts and not become emotional about the issue of rabies.
Mass vaccination programme instead of culling
Lim asked animal lovers and NGOs to work with the state to vaccinate dogs when the 40,000 doses of vaccines are approved by Putrajaya, “instead of complaining”.
The vaccines need to be approved by Putrajaya as the type proposed by the World Veterinary Services (WVS) are not on the list of vaccines used on dogs in Malaysia.
The vaccines are to be fully sponsored by WVS, a global animal welfare group, whose spokesperson met Lim yesterday to propose a mass vaccination programme instead of culling dogs.
“We hope they can come forward and offer trained manpower so we can make this programme a reality because government resources can only do so much. So instead of complaining, we hope they can offer concrete action.
“Let's have a rational solution instead of an emotional one," Lim said.
Meanwhile, in response to harsh critics of the culling decision, he said Penang was culling dogs much slower than other states because of the “humane method” it employs.
In Penang, strays are captured and jabbed with a medication to put them to sleep by government officers, he added.
“No shotguns or bullets are used. We do not make a profit out of it like the previous state government, which privatised the culling of dogs, where the companies make a profit by charging RM80 per stray.
“There is much public support for what the state is doing but even if we lose support, it is okay,” Lim said.
He wondered why he has been subjected to severe attacks, claiming that Perlis and Kedah have culled more strays than Penang.
“There are protests almost everyday against me but not even one in Perlis or Kedah. Maybe because we are too soft, and can be bullied,” he quipped.
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