AdminMalaysia’s first national humanity movement, #ExecuteAWA, has marked what organisers describe as a historic turning point in the country’s animal welfare landscape by convening the nation’s first national humanity press conference and launching #ProjekTogetherBoleh.
Hosted at Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, the event brought together animal welfare groups from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak under a unified mission for justice, integrity and science-based reform. The gathering comes at a critical juncture, as research indicates a staggering 2,035% spike in reported animal cruelty cases to the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) between 2016 and 2025, with only 0.22% reportedly resulting in prosecution.
Further compounding concerns is a May 9, 2025 letter from the Ministry of Housing and Local Government rejecting spay-and-neuter initiatives in favour of a catch-and-kill policy. Organisers argued that such measures signal systemic fractures in enforcement, governance and policy coherence.
#ExecuteAWA Founder Sue Ann Kong said, “Our nation’s animal cruelty and painful stray crisis did not just happen overnight. This horrific 2,035% proliferation on reported animal cruelty cases not only affirms weaknesses in evidence gathering, case triage, chain-of-custody issues, interagency coordination, and public reporting systems, but also that – scattered and independent due diligences by NGOs, feeders and rescuers to care for strays and pursue justice for animals over the past decades — can no longer sustain as compensation for institutional complacency, and should no longer be abused to mask opportunistic governance. The government’s reign on the goodwill of Malaysia’s kind communities, must end.”
Discovery application and science-based model
During the conference, Claws president Choo Dee Wei announced the submission of a Discovery Application to DVS, demanding full disclosure and accountability over the surge in cruelty cases.
At the heart of the movement is #ProjekTogetherBoleh, described as Malaysia’s first preventive, science-based stray population management programme. It adopts a reverse-engineering population model developed by #ExecuteAWA, integrating mortality, reproduction and diminishing rates to more accurately assess stray statistics.
Kong explained, “This backbone was specifically created to equip local councils with irrefutable data, helping authorities make informed decisions on stray population strategies that offer evidence to the effectiveness of TNVRM efforts, putting an end to catch-and-kill methods, once and for all.”
National stakeholders rally behind TNVRM
Petaling Jaya Member of Parliament Lee Chean Chung, who officiated the programme, said, “I fully support #ExecuteAWA’s #ProjekTogetherBoleh. Beyond it pioneering a coordinated national conscience rooted in unity, science, compassion and personal responsibility, it invites concerted efforts at all levels to #ExecuteTNVRM (Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Reclaim|Rehome|Return-Microchip|Manage) under a synergistic, strategic and structured approach.”
Negeri Sembilan-based NGO Pertubuhan Kebajikan Haiwan Terbiar Negeri Sembilan, also known as NS Happy Paws, became the first to mobilise the programme, incorporating sterilisation, rabies vaccination, release and the state’s first microchipping efforts.
Its president, Jude Ignatius Lazaroo, said, “We are proud to work with #ExecuteAWA as a single, national mission to choose evidence over optics. The historical outcomes globally and locally that we’ve presented today is already proof that sterilisation, vaccination, and responsible management reduce roaming animal populations more sustainably than reactive culling.”
The press conference also unveiled an upgraded national digital platform, positioned as Malaysia’s first unified animal welfare hub, aimed at consolidating data, promoting accountability and fostering coordinated civic action.
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