IPOH: State Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Sandrea Ng has lodged a police report against an individual over social media allegations claiming the state government and Ipoh City Council acted cruelly towards street dogs.
Ng said the individual had posted several accusations online and used extreme expressions such as "bloody hands" and "buried alive" when referring to government policy.
"This individual has been posting about us multiple times since last year. This time, the individual even used a picture of me taking part in a paintball activity, with content saying we are treating stray dogs cruelly," she told reporters after lodging the report at the Ipoh district police headquarters today (March 7).
"I strongly condemn the spread of false information and baseless accusations directed at the state government, civil servants and Friends of Pawsitive, a strategic partner. The use of extreme and emotionally provocative language distorts facts and has the potential to create fear, anger and hatred," she said.
Ng added that the statements contained elements of hate speech and misleading information. She said a report was also lodged with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to safeguard her personal safety and allow for investigations into defamation.
Ng noted that while Malaysia does not restrict freedom of speech, such freedom should not be misused to spread slander.
"Government policies can be debated and criticised. However, criticism should be based on facts and constructive solutions, not emotions or narratives created to discredit others," she said.
She added that the issue of stray dogs was complex. Over the past five months, the state government through the city council had worked with Friends of Pawsitive to allow the organisation to claim captured dogs at a discounted rate.
However, she said financial limitations and shelter capacity meant the initiative could not be sustained fully as the number of stray dogs far exceeds available resources.
Through the Perak Pawsitive Initiative, she said about 1,308 animals had been neutered over the past three years. Other measures include awareness campaigns and studies to introduce a microchip system.
Ng said the state was also developing a stray animal management system through a feeder-mapping application and offering land at a nominal rate for animal shelters.
