MELAKA, Sept 9 — Residents in several housing estates in Melaka are worried about the rising number of stray dogs in their midst.
The residents are concerned about their safety as these dogs tend to roam in groups and chase people while they are walking in the housing area.
A check by Bernamaa in the Taman Paya Rumput Perdana area, Cheng found more than 10 stray dogs roaming along the main road around the housing area at night.
A resident, Mohd Aiman Ismail, 25, said he had an alarming experience when he was chased by the animals twice while cycling at night.
He said he was so frightened and traumatised that he dare not cycle at night for fear the incident might recur.
“Now I no longer go cycling, the experience of being chased by wild dogs is very scary because of the possibility of being bitten.
“Not only the safety of the residents is threatened but the barking of the dogs is also disturbing at night,” he told Bernama here, recently.
It is understood that the stray dogs have made the oil palm plantations, drains and bushes nearby as their habitat and there are some individuals who feed them at certain times.
Meanwhile, a senior citizen Maimun Hassan, 67, also expressed her feelings of insecurity, due to the presence of stray dogs in the area which has led to constant monitoring of her grandchildren’s activities outside the house.
“So far, I have not heard of any residents being bitten by the dogs, but if possible we want to avoid any untoward incidents from happening. We hope this problem will be resolved as soon as possible for the safety of all residents,” she said.
Meanwhile, Melaka Historic City Council (MBMB) mayor, Datuk Zainal Abu, said, appropriate action would be taken to address the problem of stray dogs after receiving complaints from residents.
He said, MBMB had also received complaints related to the presence stray dogs in several areas among them the latest being in Tanjung Minyak, Bukit Rambai and Taman Widuri, Bachang.
“Complaints are received not every day or every week but whenever we get a complaint, the unit in charge will come to solve the problems faced by the residents.
“We have an area officer for every area under the MBMB administration who will monitor and channel information in the event of any problem,” he said.
Source: BERNAMA