Local council worker becomes hero for rescuing cat

JOHOR BARU: At first glance, Ammar Hakim Zamsuri thought nothing of a strange piece of orange rubbish bobbing up and down Sungai Segget – but a second look confirmed that it was something else.

What he did next on that Oct 31 morning would make him a local social media sensation and earn him praise from his boss, colleagues and residents.The orange item turned out to be a ginger cat that had fallen into the river and was swimming desperately in search of land.

Ammar Hakim

“Initially, I thought that it was just garbage floating on the river but when I looked closely, it was Oyen (a common name for ginger-coloured cats in Malay),” said the 28-year-old Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) worker when met yesterday.

“We went closer to the riverbank and I saw that Oyen looked confused as it was swimming helplessly in the middle of the river trying to find something to grab on to,” said Ammar Hakim, who was at the time making his rounds at the river with his colleagues.

He and his friends then started to call out to the cat while pointing it to a ladder that it could use to climb up from Sungai Segget. Surprisingly, Oyen obeyed and swam towards the ladder where it was only able to climb up one rung.

“Oyen looked really tired and there were a few people around us just watching the cat. I then decided to climb down the ladder to rescue it, fearing that the animal might fall into the river again,” said Ammar Hakim, who is attached to MBJB’s Community Development Department.

Mission accomplished: Ammar Hakim rescuing the ginger cat from the river.

As he climbed down the slippery rungs, the cat became hostile to Ammar Hakim’s attempts to reach out to it.

“I nearly lost my footing on the ladder, but I managed to get a hold of Oyen with one hand before bringing it up,” he said.

He handed Oyen off to his colleagues before pulling himself up the ladder. The cat ran away immediately after he was put on the ground, but bystanders applauded Ammar Hakim for his bravery.“I love cats and I have seven of my own at home. Hopefully, Oyen will not be in the same situation again,” he added.

A video clip of Ammar Hakim rescuing the cat had received 2,000 views after it was posted on social media. Johor Baru mayor Datuk Mohd Noorazam Osman also shared the video on his official Facebook page while praising Ammar Hakim for his bravery.

“Oyen’s life matters. Thank you to the MBJB personnel who saved the cat that fell into Sungai Segget,” he wrote.