A dangerous precedent is set, when local Councils sue the public
Koh Tat Meng’s attempt to help a dog in distress, has now ended with an unconscionable and pathetic response from the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ).
The council is now suing Koh for defamation over the incident, which occurred in October 2019.
MPSJ is foolish to allow this dangerous precedent to be set, as it is an enormous waste of the rakyat’s money and a waste of time.
In these straitened economic times, the council should make better use of their resources.
The money spent on lawyers, and researchers to prepare for this case, could be better spent on improving services to the community and education for the workers, about animal rights and cruelty to animals.
Can’t common sense prevail? Will the MP for this area not sit the councillors and Koh together, to engage with one another and have a mature dialogue so that they can come to an amicable compromise?
Why did the councillors allow this incident to escalate out of control?
The council will be seen as Little Napoleons exercising their arrogance behind a badge. Maybe they want to deter members of the public from complaining about them.
If members of the rakyat are sued by the local council, they will be less inclined to complain about shoddy services, rude behaviour, arrogance and allegations of corruption. Is this legal suit, an attempt to silence the public?
We know from the current high profile corruption trials, in the High Court, that these sorts of threats of litigation, or firing, are ways of silencing civil servants and members of the public and deterring them from reporting any wrongdoing.
So is Koh a victim of his own compassion? Is MPSJ making an example of him, to deter the public from interfering in its affairs and from reporting any indiscretions?
One’s normal instincts when seeing an animal being hounded and in distress, is to help it.
One man’s offer of help is another’s idea of intrusion – a busy body. One man’s attempt to plead for mercy is seen as a sign of weakness, by another.
When print shop owner, Koh and his wife saw a dog being chased, noosed and thrown into the back of a pick-up truck, by a group of dog catchers from the MPSJ, they were alarmed.
Koh tried to persuade the workers to exercise some restraint and be less violent. The workers said he was obstructing them in their duties.
The dog catchers ignored him, so Koh put himself between the animal and the workers, whilst pleading with them. He said that in Islam, the prophet would have wanted humans to act with compassion.
A few of the workers took umbrage and claimed that he insulted Islam. One worker pinned Koh against a car and shouted expletives at him.
Is that how the council workers treat the members of the public, who pay their wages? Was this worker reprimanded and punished for being rude in public?
The video of Koh trying to plead with the workers went viral and created an outpouring of anger from the public. It also prompted an apology from the Selangor Local Government, Public Transportation and New Village Development, State Executive Councillor, Ng Sze Han, for the workers’ arrogance and crudity.
The Tuanku Permaisuri of Selangor, who is the Royal Patron of the Stay Free Selangor (SFS) campaign, had also criticised the council workers for their inhumane treatment of the dog.
So, how did the council react? MPSJ retaliated by charging Koh under Section 186 of the Penal Code with obstructing a public servant in the discharge of his public function. If charged, he could be jailed for up to two years, or be fined RM10,000, or both.
In response, Koh pleaded not guilty, and filed a civil suit against the council.
Instead of suing for defamation, MPSJ should engage with Koh, rather than exposing its arrogance and superiority.
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An Update:
A petition has been started. Click here.
First, we should know anjing liar ni bahaya. It might be dangerous to other people lagi lagi di tempat awam. Tak salah MPSJ jalankan tanggungjawab untuk make sure keselamatan orang awam dan persekitaran terjaga.
I think this issue can be settled in a better way if both parties understand their responsibilities. Chill people
For me apa yang dilakukan oleh MPSJ itu betul. Mungkin bila berlakunya encounter dari orang awam tu yang berlaku insiden sebegitu.
For me, solusi untuk kes anjing liar ni patut kita fikir bersama. Sebab ditakuti akan menyebabkan penularan wabak penyakit dan juga menganggu orang awam.
Bg pendapat sy, anjing liar Ni mmg sgt bahayekan org awam. So sy sokong pihak2 Ni utk melakukan yg terbaik utk org awam.
Memang kesian tapi anjing2 ni bukan saja membahayakan org malah boleh merebak penyakit.
Bagi yg rasa kesian, sila ambil & bela. Jangan biar dia mengganggu org awam.
Tak masaalahnya sekarang, tu anjing liar. Anjing yang tak bertuan. Kalau anjing yang ada tuan, takde kena tangkapnya. Ni lepas merata. Kena kejar, kes digigit anjing. Majlis jugak yang disalahkannya.
Kau senang la cakap kalau kau tak pernah kena gigit. Tu belum yang berpenyakit. Jadi apa solusi yang anda boleh berikan? Anda bela semua anjing liar tu? Boleh?
Mungkin ada salah tanggap di sini. Pihak MPSJ lakukan tugas mereka demi keselamatan kita semua. Anjing liar bukan sahaja akan menggugat keselamatan malah kesihatan kita juga sebab boleh menyebabkan jangkitan penyakit bawaan haiwan. Harap pihak puan maklum tentang perkara ini
Mungkin salah tanggapan ni. Mpsj ada sebab untuk buat camtu. Anjing liar sebenarnya sangat berbahaya, selain membabitkan soal keselamatan, anjing liar menyebabkan penularan penyakit. Harap pihak puan maklum tentang perkara ini ye.
For me anjing liar ni kadang bahayakan org awam. So bg sy biarlah majlis bandaran / pihak berwajib buat kerja mereka bagi memastikan keselamatan org awam. Memang anjing akan menggelupur bika ditangkap tapi semuanya bertujuan. Bukan suka-suka. Plus anjing liar bole mengakibatkan penyakit yg bole memudaratkan. So biarlah pihak tu buat keja mereka.
Sebagai orang awam, kita tidak patut mengganggu penjawat awam untuk menjalankan tugas hakiki mereka. Kalau ada yg xpuas hati, buat laporan pada pihak berkuasa. Bagi saya mereka tidak kejam terhadap binatang, cuma cara mungkin sedikit kasar. Tp biasa la..lihat sahaja video2 polis tangkap penjenayah..lagi ganas dan kasar.
Stupid arrogant council workers – they need some training. Such brutes should not be doing this kind of job. It is sad that these workers feel they have a right to mistreat an animal in this way. They should all be given proper training on how to catch stray dogs. SHAME SHAME SHAME – suspend them immediately and save other animals from such brutality. And just look at the way they treated members of the public!!! Shock horror!!!
Anjing liar sgt bahaya. Mmg satu keperluan utk menangkapnya kerana ia akan mendatangkan mudarat kepada kanak kanak jika tidak dipantau. Kebiasaannya anjing mmg akan meronta utk cari jalan melepaskan diri. Maybe MPSJ perlu buat cara alternatif seperti menembak anjing liar guna ubat pelali atau sebagainya. Tapi kebiasaannya cara tangkapnya mmg begitu. Harap x de org menghalang lagi operasi MPSJ dan majljs tempatan, mereka nak buat kerja je. Kalau ada budak diserang anjing liar, mereka juga akan disalahkan.
Why don’t raise a petition for the case , I will support
MPSJ is officer arrogant, don’t know how to handle a public view with regards to complaint, if ever they going to due a public opinions, I will support and contribute a crowd funding to help the victim
You have highlighlighted a matter of huge significance with regard to the fundamental issue of good governance one would expect from a sensible and responsible body such as a local council, who in principle should and must be accountable to the people. Sadly, they are little napoleons who simply do not understand the meaning of good governance. This is an example of why we must have local elections. Until then such little Napoleonic small minded councils will continue to act with impunity, at the expense of the local communities.
Please let both parties sue and counter sue each other.
Based on the article above, the MPSJ is setting itself for a lot of embarrassment.
Will one party invoke the animal cruelty act?
Council. Can saman now can sue, time to have local election for council. Somethi g fundamentally wrong here