http://catsandstuff.blogspot.com/2011/08/cats-and-dogs-mentioned-in-national-day.html
Cats and dogs mentioned in National Day Rally Speech
Thanks to Imp for the heads up on the
National Day Rally where cats and dogs are mentioned. The Prime Minister mentioned that as society matures, he hopes that more and more things will be taken over by Singaporeans and not left to the authorities.
That's precisely what community cat and dog caregivers have been trying to do for years. They help to sterilise, manage and mediate - and they get very little support for doing so. Instead, roadblocks have been thrown up in their path.
While I am heartened to see that the Prime Minister has helped out in a case where a dog was caught, I am a little worried that he agreed that Ministers have more important things to worry about then cats and dogs. While I can see that in the broader picture, the Ministers have many things to worry about, I hope that this doesn't give the signal that therefore cat and dog issues should be put on the back burner. After all, these are really people issues too - it is about our environment and how we live in it. I'll post a link to the English transcript when it's out.
Here it is.
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC110815-0000180/Singaporeans-can-play-larger,-more-proactive-and-positive-role
While the Government will do its best to address and solve big and small problems, Mr Lee hopes Singaporeans can play a larger, more proactive and positive role, as "some problems may not be best tackled by the Government".
Residents have approached their MPs - including himself - t
o help with issues of pet ownership and strays, he noted. The Prime Minister said Singaporeans should take the initiative and come together to sort out issues "without needing Government to come into the loop".
Said Mr Lee: "The more proactive Singaporeans are, the better Singapore would be in responding to unexpected situations."
