Execute AWA: a bold new movement demands justice for strays

Free Malaysia Today

08-05-2025

Execute AWA is a national movement for greater treatment and protection of animals in Malaysia. (Sue Ann Kong pic)
PETALING JAYA : The first time Sue Ann Kong saw the video, she couldn't breathe. It was of
The first time Sue Ann Kong saw the video, she couldn't breathe. It was of
Kopi , the lovable brown-and-white stray shot and left for dead last October in Besut, Terengganu. The footage went viral, sparking nationwide outrage.
'Kopi was whimpering to death, and I heard the person pacifying him say, 'It's okay, Kopi, it's okay.' That broke my heart,' Kong recalled, fighting back tears. 'Since then, I've taken it personally. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of the gates of the Besut council.'
Today, the KL-based Kong is the founder of Execute AWA, a national movement demanding proper enforcement of Malaysia's Animal Welfare Act (AWA) – a law that exists, but which 'has been ineffective at governing more humane solutions for stray populations,' Kong said.
'We need to stop trivialising animal cruelty in Malaysia. We are not lawfully enforcing these regulations under the Animal Welfare Act. Animal cruelty is punishable by law. Execute the law, execute the Animal Welfare Act,' she told FMT Lifestyle.
Kong says the Animal Welfare Act needs to be executed to punish perpetrators. (Muhammad Hizami Safri @ FMT Lifestyle)
To mark the official launch of Execute AWA, the movement is hosting an event (RSVP by May 9) at Dataran Merdeka this Saturday at 5pm. 'We'll be standing shoulder to shoulder to raise awareness of the rampant animal cruelty in Malaysia,' said Kong.
'We're also gathering in honour of our fallen strays and to push for stronger laws to punish abusers and killers,' she added.
Several NGOs, including KASIH, Kluang Animal Protection Association, Cameron Highlands Animal Welfare Society, and SPCA Selangor, will be joining the gathering.
But Kong's journey didn't start with Kopi. A few years earlier, she adopted a rescued dog named Scallop. 'She changed my life. Ever since, my sensitivity to strays heightened.'
Still, it was Kopi's death that lit the fire. Instead of staging a typical protest, Kong chose a different path, one powered by spreadsheets and strategy.
'Since October, I decided to do my own research,' she said. 'To speak to as many stakeholders as I could… but there wasn't much online. Just sporadic, erratic information.'
So, she started building her own database, documenting cruelty cases as they piled up: the mechanic in Keningau who bludgeoned a dog to death, the mother dog and six puppies killed in Sungai Buloh, the cat killings at Universiti Malaya.
The gathering that will take place this Saturday aims to raise awareness of rampant animal cruelty in Malaysia. (Sue Ann Kong pic)
'I don't know if it was just because my eyes were open after Kopi's case… it was one after another,' Kong said.
As she joined Parliament gatherings and connected with grassroots NGOs, a community began to form. People started approaching her, asking how they could help. 'I was lucky. People wanted to do something – but didn't know what or how,' she said.
Volunteers soon rallied around her. 'We're now just putting a name to it,' she said of Execute AWA. 'So we can celebrate and promote a sense of belonging to positive ecosystems supporting animal welfare in Malaysia.'
The movement, which aims to unite NGOs, rescuers, and animal lovers under a shared mission, rests on five pillars: data transparency (set to go live on Execute AWA's website in mid-May), lawful enforcement, collaboration, personal responsibility, and systemic change.
But the biggest obstacle lies in the law itself.
Section 30(2)(e) of the Animal Welfare Act permits the killing of animals if it's done 'for the purpose of animal population control by any authorised authority'. To Kong, this is a betrayal of public trust.
'If the government wants to restore faith in their governance, they should immediately mandate a no-kill policy.'
Kong says everyone must play a role – foster, donate, adopt, volunteer, feed, speak up. (Sue Ann Kong pic)
She argued that there has been no due diligence – no nationwide, fully funded TNVRM (trap, neuter, vaccinate, release, manage) programme, something that is strongly advocated by Filbert's Foundation for Furry Friends (F5) president Dr Namita Gill.
'It's the only humane solution,' Kong insisted. 'Yet instead of recognising ground efforts, they immediately go for culling. It's convenient, it's lazy, it's brutal. Compassion must trump convenience.'
Ultimately for Kong, the fight for animal welfare isn't just for activists – it's for everyone. 'It's just a matter of whether you are willing,' she says.
Foster, donate, adopt, volunteer, feed, speak up. Every action counts. But real change, she believed, began with empathy. 'More gentleness, more kindness, more love.'
For strays like Kopi, and for every silent cry still unheard, that kindness might be the difference between peace and suffering, life and death.