A Short Brief From The Editor

Announcements

2nd Annual General Meeting

Beauty Pageant For Exotic Birds

No More Pets
by Noor Aini Abdullah -Amir

Responsible Pet Ownership
by Dr. S. Sivagurunathan

"Behaviour, Training & Human - Animal Bond" Course

2nd Annual General Meeting

The 2nd AGM of MNAWF was duly held on 9 October 1999 at the Royal Selangor Club. Although it went smoothly, there were only 21 members in attendance while we had expected at least 50 members. We sincerely hope more members would attend future meetings as this would provide an opportunity to share ideas or proposals for the benefit of all.

During the meeting, the Chairman went through the Annual Report & Accounts for 1998/99. The Resolution on application to the Inland Revenue Department for tax exemption on all donations to MNAWF was adopted and will be submitted to the Registrar of Societies for consideration.

The executive committee members for 1999/2000 are as follows:

Chairman: Dato' Dr. Mohd. Nordin b. Mohd. Nor
Deputy Chairman: Dr. S. Sivagurunathan
Secretary: Ms. Niremala Devi
Assistant Secretary: Ms. Joyce Chew
Treasurer: Mr. Chang Kum Wah
Assistant Treasurer: Ms. Parameswari
Committee Members: Dr. Paul Chelliah
                                  Dr. Harcharan Singh
                                  Ms. Rasamani Kandiah
                                  Ms. Theresa Rajahser
                                  Dr. Muhmad Kamarulzaman Muhd Sarif
                                  Dr. Shamsul Kamal b. Ismail
                                  Dr. Johara Mohd. Yob
                                  Ms. Christine Chin

The following activities have been planned for next year:

Animal Awareness & Education

National Animal Welfare Awareness Week: In the area of awareness and education, we have plans for a national animal welfare awareness week for public participation to be held around May in all States in the country. The event would comprise a pet show & contests, talk and health campaign. The public can take advantage of the health campaign offering for example, spaying/neutering of pets at special prices. Guidelines on caring for a pet, pet grooming and pet healthcare would be given to educate the public in these areas.

Education and Pet Interaction Programmes in Schools: Programmes aimed at familiarising children with pets are being planned for schools. Along with a talk on animal welfare we would arrange a practical interactive session for the students with pets, to help children learn to co-exist with animals from a young age and remove the fear of animals.

Public seminar: A seminar or forum on responsible pet ownership and other aspects of animal welfare will be organised. We need to inculcate this into our society to ensure the irresponsible practice of discarding unwanted pets at dumpsites and market places is stopped, thus reducing the number of stray animals on our streets.

Fund Raising Projects
A charity dinner and charity movie in aid of animal welfare are some of the fund raising projects in the pipeline. Others are sales of souvenir items like t-shirts, mugs, key holders, etc.

Membership Drive
We would continue to participate in public pet festivals and exhibitions organised by local state veterinary departments or other animal welfare groups and pet clubs, by setting up an information booth. Announcements giving information on the Foundation over ASTRO channels will also be part of our membership drive.

Further details will be set out in the Minutes of the Meeting to be forwarded to all members in due course.