Come on, MPS - get real here!!

Lately Majlis Perbandaran Selayang seems to be working very hard at "upholding the law" - apparently they're simply "enforcing".
I must say that they're quite enthusiastic about it - so much so, that they brought some clueless Policemen (who of course are the "Saya yang Menurut Perintah" variety, lah) to help them along in catching dogs on private property.

Actually, I'm all for MPS enforcing the law, which I intend to abide by.
In this post, I don't wish to bring up the contentions of residents on the attitude or actions of the enforcement officers (which may be controversial or debatable). In this post, let us just dwell on the legal aspect of their action in "pounding" the dogs which were never a nuisance in the first place and were on private property.

Their contention is this - they're enforcing Seksyen 6(d), Akta Hakmilik Strata 1985 (Akta 318).

Now, This is how the Section 6(d) goes:-

Larangan-larangan bagi pemilik petak

6. Seseorang pemilik petak tidaklah boleh-

• (d) memelihara apa-apa binatang dalam petaknya atau atas harta bersama yang boleh menyebabkan gangguan kepada man-mana pemilik lain.

Okay ...... basically what the law is saying here is -
"you cannot keep your dogs on shared property" - and that's fine by me.
This statement would cover all Condominiums/Apartments/Flats etc which do not have anything like an accesory plot ("petak aksesori")- and therein lies the catch!!

Here are some FAQs (Soalan Lazim) on the local bylaws at the Pejabat Tanah Dan Galian website:

S :Apakah yang dimaksudkan Hakmilik Strata?
J : Hakmilik yang dikeluarkan untuk setiap unit (petak) bagi sesebuah bangunan yang mempunyai dua tingkat atau lebih atas tanah berimilik yang dipegang sebagai satu lot dimana kelulusan bagi memecah bahagi bangunan tersebut telah diluluskan (Seksyen 6 AHS). Contohnya, Rumah Pangsa, Pangsapuri, Kondominium, Penthouse, Kompleks Komersial dan Rumah Kedai.

**(Please note that landed properties aren't included in examples)

S:Apakah yang dimaksudkan dengan Petak?
J:Di dalam skim strata, unit strata dikenali sebagai ‘petak’.

S:Apakah yang dimaksudkan dengan Petak Aksesori?

J:Petak aksesori adalah petak lain yang digunakan secara eksklusif oleh tuan punya petak hakmilik strata. Contohnya, tempat letak kereta yang hanya boleh digunakan secara eksklusif oleh pemilik petak.

S:Apakah yang dimaksudkan dengan Perbadanan Pengurusan?
J:Terdiri daripada pemilik-pemilik petak di dalam skim strata. Ia terbentuk secara automatik bila hakmilik strata didaftarkan melalui Buku Daftar Strata.

S:Apakah yang dimaksudkan dengan Harta Bersama?

J:Harta Bersama ditakrifkan sebagai semua di atas tanah berimilik kecuali petak dan petak aksesori seperti tangga, bumbung, taman dan sebagainya.

What they call the "petak aksesori" are those which defines the private porch or even extra lands on corner lots of Townhouses/link houses/semi-D homes which aren't included in the examples. These areas are "PRIVATE PROPERTIES", and any trespassing of these properties even by those who may be enforcers of the law, violates the law - unless they are there to uphold the law.

Now the law clearly states that animal cannot be kept on properties which are - "HARTA BERSAMA" which are quite different from "Petak Aksesori" as stated above.

Is it not the resident's right to used the private property as he deems fit - so long as he doesn't flout the law? Does MPS have the right to dictate terms to residents on what they can do & keep on their private property?
Now is MPS trying to redefine the law, or am I mistaken here?

Somehow I cannot accept the claim that MPS has the right to restrict the keeping of pets in areas beyond "harta bersama".

Let's not even begin discussing the shooting of Nine defenceless & hungry pedigree dogs (which would've been grabbed-up immediately, if put up for adoption) recently by some two-legged dogs with guns ..... It is bad enough aslo, that "some muncipalities" got a bad name from ill-treating animals or even holding stray-dog shooting competitions.

Even if you were right - you should at least have the humanity of "the prostitute who is said to have entered heaven for showing compassion to a stray dog" which the scripture speak of.
Let the owners at least make arrangements before you intrude on private properties- give them enough time (not 24 hrs la .....).

C'mon MPS - get real, and try to understand the laws you wish to enforce .....

PS
A note of appreciation must be mentioned to a certain individual from MPS, who has been very understanding on this issue - Thank You, Puan.