Source: Apple Daily
Date: 11 July 2017
Thank you Doris for the write up and for visiting the sanctuary in JB, we look forward to seeing you again at NANAS.
[Translation]
In Pekan Nanas, Johor, Malaysia, there is an animal sanctuary
called Noah’s Ark Natural Animal Shelter, housing a myriad of animals ranging
from horses, monkeys, gibbon, pig, dogs, cats, rabbits and thousand others. These animals were once abandoned. Among them,
some were previously on the edge of death. Here in this ark, they finally regain
happiness that they deserve.
On an extremely hot and sunny day, the cameraman and I joined
Clement Yen and his wife, Lynda Goh (both volunteers) in their car, en route to
Noah’s Ark Natural Animal Shelter. We
journeyed through heated-up tar roads, pierced through trails surrounded by
lush greeneries.
We finally turned onto a sandy land which eventually led us
the sanctuary, its size of which is even larger than Hong Kong’s Victoria Park.
Upon arrival, we were welcomed by dogs
of varying sizes with opened arms. They
appeared excited in our presence. “They
are very used to our presence. They deem
us as their close friends. They know we
always bring along with us good food for them”, said Lynda passionately while
having both her arms fully loaded with dog food, canned food for the cats and
coconuts which we grabbed earlier during our journey for the monkeys.
69 year-old founder
who brought abandoned animals from Singapore to Malaysia
Noah’s Ark Founder, Raymund Wee was born in Singapore. Although aged 69, he hardly looks his age. “When I was a kid, my grandma forced me to
drown kittens but because I have weakness for the animals, I often released
them. I had a dog, it was a mongrel. It
had massive wounds on the neck and my father was bugging me all the time to
release this dog because we couldn’t afford. So at a very young age, I had to make
decisions. Over here, I’m helping the
animals and we have a choice”, said Raymund. Prior to establishing the sanctuary, Raymund
held a high position in an airlines company.
In 1995, he hired more 10 workers in Singapore to render him
a helping hand in taking care of more than a hundred strays which he rescued
off the streets. This continued until
2000 when he finally decided to expand the scale of his sanctuary. He made multiple trips to transport animals he
rescued from Singapore to Pekan Nanas and established this paradise which is
nestled amongst lush greeneries. All the
chalets, huts, furniture such as tables and chairs, as well as railings are all
made of old, unwanted wood. For the sake
of these animals, Raymund left his home and currently resides with the animals
in the sanctuary. Despite the fact that
he is aging, he expressed that he had never worried about the future of the
sanctuary. “Here, we often have
veterinarians who come forward to assist as volunteers. We even have potential veterinarians as
interns here at Noah’s Ark. Just like
the rest of the workers and volunteers, these people are very familiar to the
operations of the sanctuary. I believe
they will be more than willing to look after the sanctuary on my behalf
someday”, said Raymund.
Passionate couple travels
weekly for a decade to volunteer at the sanctuary.
Clement and his wife, Lynda are among the persons whom
Raymund considered as being well-versed with the affairs and operations of the
sanctuary. They are experienced
volunteers who had, for the past decade, travelled every weekend from Singapore
to the sanctuary to visit the animals.
Among all animals, Clement has a soft spot for the nine horses. Some of
them were from the horse racing industry. They were given up by their owners as they have
aged and could no longer race. Some were
kept at amusement parks for the purpose of pony rides. They had spent most of their lives
entertaining and amusing us human. “Without
Noah’s Ark, they would possibly have been killed. I still remember the first time when I saw
them. Their eyes were sad and they looked depressed”, said Clement while
recalling. When we asked Lynda who is
her favourite member in the sanctuary, in high spirits she ushered us to
another side of the sanctuary where a gibbon resides. The gibbon was having a good time swinging on
a pole placed in the middle of his enclosure. Upon realizing our presence, the gibbon
reached out its hand for us to hold. “It
actually came from a resort that closed down. He was used to entertain tourists and he was
tied up all the time. When he first
arrived, we built him this enclosure. During
his first 2 days here, he didn’t know he could actually swing, he took a few
days to adjust”, said Lynda. Also, Lynda
reminded me not to smile to or laugh in front of the gibbon, clarifying that
“perhaps he was often laughed at prior to him residing in the sanctuary. He may
mistake our laughter as making fun of him, of which he will turn angry”.
In the
sanctuary, the animals mostly were abandoned cats and dogs. They still retain
their friendly and approachable nature. Among the animals, there was also a wild boar.
I was given to understand that it was
bought at a very young age out of its cuteness. However, as the days passed by and it grew, it
was subsequently abandoned mercilessly.
Not to forget also, there was a monkey which suffered massive injury and
was subsequently rescued from the jungle. Clement said, “There was once when a
friend of ours asked my wife and me as to whether travelling here weekly to
visit the animals is a monotonous and boring routine. The truth is, we don’t
derive the same happiness and satisfaction from, for example, shopping. It is true that you can buy and therefore own
a lot of things with money. But the
peacefulness, tranquility and serenity the nature brings to oneself is
priceless. One thing is for sure, money
can never buy you a chance to be in such close proximity with these adorable
animals”.
