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Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Mah
Siew Keong had a shock when he visited Kampung Pasir Wardieburn
this morning: He was greeted by squawking chickens.
There were chickens in houses, walking along pathways among
children, and Mah was even able to watch two roosters fighting.
Obviously, the exercise to cull all chickens in the village has
been unsuccessful so far. Although more than 2,000 chickens have
been culled, it is still a long way from eliminating the bird
flu threat. Despite the fear of a bird flu pandemic, villagers
and chicken still live side-by-side here. |
The NST found chickens very much alive and kicking all over the
village. One villager, Saniah Awang, 65, even asked: "Is it
(bird-flu) life-threatening?".
Another villager, Rohani Mohd Yusoff, 59, said: "One of my
chickens died on Saturday. I put it in a plastic bag and threw
it into the rubbish bin."
Zainab Osman, 71, who came from Muar two days ago, said she had
seen two chickens roaming her daughter’s house.
"These chickens are not mine and my neighbors told me that the
authorities would come to catch them. But these fowls are still
around," she said. |
A visibly upset Mah said: "This is dangerous." Accompanied by
Veterinary Services Department deputy director-general Dr Abdul
Aziz Jamaluddin, he toured the village to get a first-hand look
at the situation.
Mah, told the Press that the officers of the department, City
Hall and the police were working round-the-clock. "The culling
operations have to continue till there are no more birds within
a one- kilometre radius of Kampung Pasir Wardieburn. "Our target
is by this Sunday," he said.
Mah urged villagers to cooperate with the authorities and to
surrender their chickens so that the virus would not spread. |
