A ribbon around your neck

Like most government 'official launches', they just had to put a ribbon somewhere. But there were no beribboned cutting scissors, mock keys or mock cheques. Instead, a yellow ribbon sat almost prettily on a noose at the end of a stick.














Something's awfully wrong with this picture, no? I don't know if it's the noose around the cardboard dog's neck or the stupid PR smile on the VIP's face. I could almost see the cameras going off and hear the fake applause. Makes me sick.

To date, animal rights and dog lover groups have done an amazing job of giving the poor strays a voice. From a peaceful protest at Bandar Utama's Central Park last weekend...













... to a memorandum written and petition gathered for the Selayang Municipal Council. Read all about it here at Natasha and Cleo's blog.














Surprisingly, the people at MPS felt a need to have security personnel present in full force. Not so surprisingly, the 'Datuk' or people who mattered were 'not around' or 'on leave' or 'busy'. So they sent their PR people out, 'bodyguards' in tow. They must be kidding, right? It was a memorandum handover. Not a violent protest.













Besides, the animal lovers had more to worry about. Who knows... the council could decide to throw a beribboned noose around their necks too. Even so, we must keep the noise level up for as long as possible. There's only so much stupidity we can swallow in this country.

*Pictures from Natasha's blog