Cover image via Khairil (Provided to SAYS)
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When most of us are still deciding what to eat for lunch, Khairil Azhar is already halfway through his daily mission, feeding over 150 stray cats and 50 stray dogs across 35 "hot spots" in Perak
The 49-year-old former bank executive and local councillor has been doing this every single day for the past nine years.
Rain, shine, or even when his knees are screaming in stage-four osteoarthritis pain, he still gets into his car, honks the horn, and watches furry heads pop out from bushes, alleys, and even jungle trails.
"They're not dangerous. They're just hungry. But people treat them like pests. That's what breaks me," he told SAYS.
Khairil didn't set out to become a full-time stray feeder. But after seeing countless animals starving, abused, or cruelly killed just for begging for food and water, he couldn't ignore it.
Some were poisoned. Some left to bake in the sun. Some died of pure starvation.
"Where is humanity? If we can't even have compassion for an animal that can't speak or defend itself… what does that say about us?" he asked.
From 10.30am till 10pm, Khairil's feeding route takes him everywhere — his home, a mini shelter he runs, roadside spots, wet markets, back alleys, flats, the forest, and even places where people dump unwanted pets
And he knows all the animals by name. Even the newbies, fresh from abandonment, don't escape his radar.
"I can tell when a cat or dog is new. You can see the confusion in their eyes," he said.
There was a time two of his regular stray dogs barked non-stop until he followed them, only to find two kittens drowning in a drain.
Another time, three dogs scared off a snake in the middle of the night while he was feeding them in an oil palm farm.
"They're all gone now," he recalled quietly. "But I'll never forget them."
Khairil says a single day's menu for the animals includes:
- 25kg of cat kibbles
- Eight cans of cat wet food
- 20kg of boiled chicken heads
- Dog food by the sack and tin
The cost? Too much for one man's savings.
Most of it comes from his own pocket, topped up by the occasional donation from fellow animal lovers. Sometimes, he has to ration so each animal at least gets one meal a day.
The challenges he faces go beyond financial
Some people yell at him. Some threaten the animals.
Then, there's the weather, the pain in his knees, the fact that he hasn't had a proper holiday in years because the animals will literally be waiting for him.
"If I don't come, they'll go hungry. I can't bear that thought," he admitted.
Khairil has rescued and rehomed hundreds of cats and dozens of puppies, and has personally neutered over 300 cats and 30 dogs (often by going into debt with a vet who understands his mission)
His plea is simple: adopt instead of buying, and make sure to neuter your pets.
"If you don't like strays, fine. But don't harm them. And don't teach your kids to harm them either. Compassion is never a weakness," he stressed.
Khairil's story isn't about wanting to go viral. It's about hoping more people will care.
"If more of us helped, it wouldn't be such a heavy load for a few of us. We can't just leave it to NGOs or rescuers. These animals belong to all of us, in the sense that they share our streets, our cities, our country," he added.
Because the truth is, kindness might not change the whole world, but for a hungry animal waiting under a bush for the sound of his car horn, it changes everything.
Khairil's commitment aligns with Execute AWA — Malaysia's first national humanity mission for greater animal welfare — by the people of Malaysia, for the animals of Malaysia.
This positive and professional community movement champions unity and grassroots collaboration, demands strict enforcement of laws that uphold justice, and advocates for legal reforms to raise the standards of animal rights nationwide.
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