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Page 11  The animal and insect act by cecil rajendra |
The animal and
insect act Finally, in order to ensure absolute national security they passed the Animal and Insect Emergency Control and Discipline Act Under this new Act, buffaloes cows and goats were prohibited from grazing in herds of more than three. Neither could birds flock, nor bees swarm .... This constituted unlawful assembly. As they had not obtained prior planning permission, mud-wasps and swallows were issued with summary Notices to Quit. Their homes were declared subversive extensions to private property. Monkeys and mynahs were warned to stop relaying their noisy morning orisons until an official Broadcasting Licence was issued by the appropriate Ministry. Unmonitored publications and broad- casts posed the gravest threats in times of a National Emergency. Similarly, woodpeckers had to stop tapping their morse- code messages from coconut tree-top to chempaka tree. |
| All messages were
subject to a thorough pre-scrutiny by the relevant authorities. Java sparrows were arrested in droves for rumour-mongering.. Cats (suspected of conspiracy) had to be indoors by 9 o'clock Cicadas and crickets received notification to turn their ampli- fiers down. Ducks could not quack nor turkeys gobble during restricted hours. Need I say, all dogs — alsatians, daschunds, terriers, pointers and even little chihuahuas — were muzzled. In the interests of security penguins and zebras were ordered to discard their non-regulation uniforms. The deer had to surrender their dangerous antlers. Tigers and all carnivores with retracted claws were sent directly to prison for concealing lethal weapons. And by virtue of Article Four, paragraph 2(b) sub-subsection sixteen, under no circumstances were elephants allowed to break wind between the hours of six and six. Their farts could easily be interpreted as gunshot. Might spark off a riot .... A month after the Act was properly gazetted the birds and insects started migrating south the animals went north and an eerie silence handcuffed the forests. There was now Total Security. Photo: Symbols of the police state. |
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Editor: Lim Kean Chye |
If you have any photos of old Penang which you would like published please send them to 35 Halaman Batu Maung 11960 Batu Maung Penang and we shall return them to you after publication If you have a story we shall be glad to publish it here. We have also an Index to all issues. If you are interested in having a copy please email us at thepenangfileg@yahoo.co.uk giving your name, address as well as your email address |
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CLICK Food guide Gold in the South (5) J B Jeyaratnam Lau Tat Hong Penang ABC Redressing imbalance Samad Ismail Unknown history - exhibition |
| _____________________ The Penang File Issue 62 |
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