Against all odds, widow ensures Pak Mie’s animal shelter lives on

Halijah Ismail, or Mak Intan, plays with her dogs at her animal shelter in Alor Setar, Kedah. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, June 28, 2015.

Famous stray animal rescuer Pak Mie is no longer alive, but it is still business as usual at his animal shelter at Tanjung Bendahara in Alor Star, Kedah.

Every day, his widow Mak Intan cares for over 500 dogs, cats and a few rabbits at the shelter, with the help of two workers and son Alif Effendy, 30. When she receives calls about dogs and cats needing rescue around Alor Star, she will drive out to get them.

Her attention is often focused on the sick animals, which are separated from the rest of the pack. She hand feeds each dog and administers the necessary medicine herself. 

She still sleeps at the shelter so she can be near those that need constant care.

When she was hospitalised recently for a week, her workers brought the various medicines to the hospital for her to label and instruct them which medicines were for which animal.

She remembers each fur kid by name, and speaks to them and chides them if they misbehave as if they are children.

The work never stops, and neither does her love for animals, even without Pak Mie by her side.

Mak Intan, whose real name is Halijah Idris, said it was hard losing her husband, Muhammad Azmi Ismail, 58, who died three months ago. He was a partner with whom she could share her thoughts, worries and burdens with. 

"We shared the workload, we talked when we had problems with the running of the shelter, and we looked for solutions together. Without him, I often feel I am alone. 

"I have my children and my helpers but they are young people who sometimes don’t get what old people like me think… youngsters these days prefer the easy ways.

“But I have to continue. We are not just caring for one or two dogs. We have hundreds…so I must have the spirit to push on. Pak Mie would want me to,” the 68-year-old told The Malaysian Insider.

Mak Intan is not alone in struggling to let Pak Mie go. Even the dogs that were close to her late husband could not leg go when Pak Mie died on March 22 following a stroke.

She said when her husband died, his dogs refused to eat and when she gave them his old clothes to comfort them, the animals refused to part with the clothes that still had his scent.

Now, Hari Raya is around the corner, but Mak Intan said there would be no celebration this year.

Make Intan and Pak Mie are well-known nationwide for rescuing abandoned, sick and stray cats and dogs. The couple has battled the odds together, standing up to condemnation, criticism and even slander for their kindness towards dogs, which are considered unclean by Muslims.

They had been known to sleep in their battered Proton Saga at their riverside shelter in Tanjung Bendahara so they could be close to the animals.

The couple nearly lost the shelter two years ago when the local council threatened to evict them from the plot belonging to Indah Water Konsortium.

Mak Intan prepares food for the strays at the shelter. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, June 28, 2015.

The fear of losing the shelter is always on Mak Intan’s mind, even though they were still there in Tanjung Bendahara and despite having registered as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) early this year.

“It is still a problem that we are occupying the land. About a week after Pak Mie died, people from the Land Office and the veterinary department came.

“They were not here to help… just to check up on us and maybe find our faults, telling us we have to do this and that. But we cannot do anything with the shelter because the land is not ours.

“I don’t know when we will face another eviction. We are just taking each day at a time now,” she said.

She also worries about the shelter being attacked by critics online, as this brings them problems.

“Are there any complaints or bad things written about us lately? Did you see anything on the Internet?” she asked.

Due to the uncertainty of the shelter’s future at its current location, Mak Intan said they needed a permanent home above all else, not just food and medicines, for the survival of the rescued animals.

With no electricity or piped water at the current shelter, she admitted they could only do so much to care for and help the animals.

“We can only do what we can. If we have a real place, we can do things more properly. But we can only hope someone can help us find a place,” she said.

For now, help for the shelter comes in form of food and monetary donations from animal lovers and well-wishers around Alor Star and out of state.

“I am very thankful to those who have given us aid and donations. Their help has kept the shelter running,” she said.

To lessen the shelter’s burden, Mak Intan has also "reviewed" Pak Mie’s policy of not giving up any of their rescued animals for adoption.

When Pak Mie was alive, he would turn down offers by people who wanted to adopt his dogs. He would tell them to go out and rescue strays or abandoned dogs from the streets themselves.

“Pak Mie would get angry… he wanted others to rescue animals from the streets and give them homes. But I am not doing things like him.

“If there are people coming to me to adopt cats and puppies, I will welcome them,” she said.

Mak Intan said she also worked closely with other NGOs like the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Sungai Petani and Penang, so she might also find homes for some of the healthy puppies at her shelter through them.

To help the shelter, donations can be made to Mak Intan’s account at Public Bank (Account number 68368860-36).