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Three questions for the Klang Municipal Council about its newly-formed horse crime unitMedia Statement by Lim Kit Siang (Petaling Jaya, Thursday): The Sunday Star of 13th July 2003 carried a report entitled “Klang council horses to help fight petty crime” about Klang Municipal Council spending RM250,000 to buy 10 throughbreds from Britain and Australia for “crime prevention”. (http://www.thestar.com.my/services/printerfriendly.asp?file=/2003/7/13/nation/5822368.asp&sec=nation ) The report said: “The Klang Municipal Council’s newly formed horse unit will help the district police in crime prevention work, by patrolling narrow areas like back lanes. “This could help check the rise in petty crime especially in housing estates, said council president Datuk Mohd Sharif Yusuf. “’The horses can go through narrow routes or paths where vehicles can't enter,’ he said during a visit to the unit at Taman Rakyat in Taman Sri Andalas here on Thursday. “Sharif said the council spent RM250,000 to buy 10 thoroughbred horses from Australia and Britain. The money was also used to build a covered paddock and a stable that could house 15 horses. ‘’‘We have 15 personnel in the horse unit and they have been training for six months. “’They have been successful in handling the horses which arrived here about a month ago,’ he said, adding that the horses were between five and six years old.” The Klang Municipal Council should answer three questions: 1) When did crime prevention become a Klang council matter? 2) Thoroughbreds race at their peak at five years old. The report says they are five and six year-olds. This suffice to say they are useless as racehorses and such horses are usually culled and can be bought at public auctions for RM1,000 or less each. The cost of flying a thoroughbred from New Zealand to Malaysia is about RM7,000. From Australia, it would be just slightly less, from Britain it will be much more expensive, hence the freight bill will be higher than the animals! 3) The upkeep of the horses, i.e farrier fees, vet accounts, drench etc make them very expensive to maintain, certainly much much more than maintaining a fleet of motorbikes if the aim was to patrol narrow alleyways. If no satisfactory answer is forthcoming from the Klang Municipal Council, then the Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Khir Toyo should step in to hold an inquiry and provide the Klang ratepayers as well as the people of Selangor and Malaysia a proper response. (17/7/2003) * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman |