Cleanliness Essay Competition

Good news to everyone!

There will be an open essay competition with the topic on effective ways to maintain cleanliness. Essay can be written in three languages; English, Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese with the maximum length of 3000 words. The judging will be based on content (80%) and language structure/style of writing (20%). Cash prizes of RM2,000, RM1,000 and RM500 plus certificates for the first three winners in each category are ready to be grabbed! 

The competition begins from August 1st until 15th. All entries can be submitted to C.K. Chin at 602, Jalan Sang Kancil 1, 88300, Kota Kinabalu. Media practitioners and environmental activists are among the panel of judges. The prizes will be given away on August 30. 

Those who are interested in joining this competition should not  miss the opportunity! This competition will not only creates awareness to the public but indirectly bringing them to contribute along the ideas on ways to curb cleanliness problems.

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Change Attitude for Cleaner Beaches - Masidi

  "Some Sabahans are in desperate need of an attitude change when it comes to littering, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun." - Daily Express

Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun has urged the society to change their attitudes and start to pay serious attention over the environmental cleanliness.

Complaints on cleanliness along Sabah's shores are nothing new and the City Hall has taken the step to clean the shores on daily basis. However, the effort is not enough to overcome the issue as long as the people have no conciousness towards the cleanliness of ocean and rivers. The situation in Sembulan, for instance is quite worrying and City Hall's is going to redevelop the area with the hope to solve the cleanliness issue there.

It is sad to see that littering problem is still haunting the society eventhough there were so many measures have been taken to educate the people on environmental cleanliness.  We should realize that it is our responsibility to ensure the environment is clean and protected. Doing our part to keep litter to a minimum is easy, but it takes vigilance yet it is never to late for us to make a change for a better environment through our mindset, habit and attitude.

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Mayor: Factories and work sites must be kept neat and tidy too

Photo: Insight Sabah

In his bid to make Kota Kinabalu City cleaner, Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir urged those involved in the industrial sector including developers, manufacturers and suppliers to work together with the City Hall to keep their compound and premises neat and tidy.

Abidin, who spoke at the launching of the International Property Expo (IPEX) 2013 at the Sabah Trade Centre on Thursday, said that this can be achieved through a sense of commitment, strict supervision, education, discipline and organisation by all.

According to Abidin, he was informed at the recent International Design Conference in Sabah that proper waste management in the industrial sector and especially on construction sites can effectively reduce on-site construction waste by 70 percent.

Abidin said he was heartened to see that the anti-litter campaign organised by the City Hall has begun to bear fruit as more and more people are responding well to it.

"The corporate sector, the tourism sector, as well as schools now appear to be making a real effort to keep their grounds litter-free," he said.

Abidin said that the City Hall has worked relentlessly towards making the city and surrounding areas cleaner and has similarly introduced a proper waste management programme for villagers  living on the nearby islands and along the city's coastal areas.

"We at City Hall hope that through our efforts, we can influence the thinking of  the public, thereby cultivating the habit of  cleanliness," he said. 

Source: Insight Sabah

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Marine Park Cleanliness is Important

Tunku Abdul Rahman Park

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said rubbish pollution had reached an alarming level in Sabah and there were cases where tourists did not want to come here.

He said the sight of wastes at tourist spots could drive potential tourists away, adding that locals should play their role and participate in cleaning activity to maintain a clean environment.

Last year, City Hall had stepped up efforts to make Kota Kinabalu a clean city. These included the introduction of proper waste management programme to the people living on the islands and coastal areas within the city's jurisdiction.

Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir said City Hall had been carrying out various intensive cleanliness programmes on the mainland as well as nearby villages on Gaya Island.

He also gave an assurance that enforcement efforts would be intensified to curb the indiscriminate dumping of rubbish like plastic bags into the sea.

Dive operators in the state have also contributed to underwater conservation by implementing Project Aware.

The move by scuba divers have helped to keep the ocean clean from debris and it has been conducted here, on Mantanani Island, Mabul Island and in Semporna.

University Malaysia Sabah students had also taken the initiative to clean up beaches.

They spent three hours picking up rubbish along the bay in Likas here, last month.

More than 30 volunteers, comprising locals and foreigners, had joined in the effort to create a clean city environment.

In April, Astro would be attempting a Guiness World Record for the longest underwater clean-up project at 14 dive sites at TARP.

The Astro Kasih Beautiful Malaysia project hopes to create an awareness of marine conservation and, at the same time, engage with local community.

Source: New Straits Times

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Special committee to monitor Sungai Petagas

PUTATAN: Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Yahya Hussin wants a special committee to monitor Sungai Petagas to ensure that it is clean.

He said it will also help to increase public awareness on the importance of their role in keeping the river clean at all times. 

“I have suggested it to the District Officer to form a committee to monitor Sungai Petagas and other rivers in the district. 

“Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) has already given their commitment to help us improve Sungai Petagas as well as other rivers in Sabah,” he said.

Yahya was speaking to reporters after officiating at the Tiger Prawn Improvement and Rehabilitation Programme which also aimed to create public awareness on the importance of Sungai Petagas, held at the Kampung Petagas community hall here yesterday. 

Those present were the director of the Borneo Marine Research Institute for UMS, Prof. Dr. Saleem Mustafa, Sungao Petagas Community Project Leader, Prof. Datin Seri Panglima Dr.Ann Anton, Putatan District Officer, Ag. Abd. Ghani Pg. Yusoff, Director of the Fisheries Department, Rayner S. Galid and local residents of Kampung Petagas. 

Yahya who is also the Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry as well as the assemblyman for Petagas, noted that the level of public awareness on river protection is still low. 

“We see the river is still dirty and there are rubbish and wastes strewn all over the riverbanks. Some irresponsible quarters even dispose industrial waste into Sungai Petagas. It appears as though the river has become a convenient dumping ground for villagers and even the factories. 

“We get information that at night and early morning, lorries carrying garbage and industrial waste come to dispose the items into the river and this has badly polluted the river,” he said.

Putatan which now has a population of more than 50,000 is rapidly growing and that growth has affected the function and condition of Sungai Petagas. 

Yahya recalled that some 40 years ago, the river was a source of livelihood for fishermen and its clean water was a main supply to the residents. 

However, the Department of Environment found that the quality of water in Sungai Petagas was deteriorating due to domestic waste such as plastic bags and bottles which caused adverse effects to the aquatic life in the river. 

“I hope that the programme to improve and rehabilitate aquatic resource in the river between the district office and UMS will transform and enhance the socio-economy of the local community while improving the quality of the river water,” said Yahya. 

He believed that once the river has been rehabilitated, it will have the potential to be developed as an area for eco-tourism. 

The programme is the second phase of an initiative to improve the fish stock in the river after the first one was implemented last 23 April. 

Yahya also distributed prawn and fish fries to 10 villages in the Petagas constituency.

Source: New Sabah Times

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Environment Cleanliness is Everybody's Responsibility - Masidi

Datuk Masidi said that many of the tourist who come to Sabah made a complaint that state on how dirty our public toilets in the Kota Kinabalu area as well as rubbish that been thrown recklessly.

He said we cannot continue to promote Sabah as the best eco-tourism spot in the world if we do not have the sense of responsibility to preserve our environment and to take care the cleanliness of our city. The government can spend millions to promote Sabah as the best eco-tourism destination but if we do not care about our city cleanliness all of our effort is just a waste. The society should realize and reflect themselves that the rubbish that have been thrown come from their own attitude. He added that community should not just rely on City Hall only to pick up the responsibilities of cleanliness but instead the people should change their attitude and be more responsible to the environment.

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Cleanliness is a Shared Responsibility

Conveying the message at a gotong-royong to clean up the beach,  Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir said a lot of public complaints on the unsatisfactory cleanliness level at Anjung Perdana, especially the smelly drains has been made to the City Hall.

Abidin stressed that maintaining the cleanliness at Tanjung Aru is very crucial because this place is popular for the locals and tourist from abroad.

Eatery operators as well as fruit hawkers at the Tanjung Aru Beach here were reminded to practice proper garbage disposal, instead of dumping them indiscriminately into the drains or on the beach in order to keep the place clean always.

It was part of the Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) “5-Ks Program” to salvage the rapidly deteriorating image of Tanjung Aru Beach as a “must visit place” for both the local residents and visitors.

The 5-Ks refer to “Kebersihan” (Cleanliness), “Keindahan” (Beauty), “Keselamatan” (Security), “Keteraturan” (Orderliness) and “Kesejahteraan” (Peace).

Abidin also advised members of the public to do not litter the place indiscriminately. 

"It is devastating to see the beach was still littered with garbage like foods and drinks containers, cigarette butts even though provision of sufficient garbage bins," he said.

Therefore, he reminded that the maintenance of cleanliness of the place is not solely a responsibility of the DBKK, but a shared responsibility among the residents of Kota Kinabalu City.

While elaborating on the idea and objectives of the 5-Ks Concept, he noted that the gotong-royong exercise was a beginning for the various follow-up actions and strategies that had been identified to enable the Tanjung Aru Beach to achieve the 5-Ks status.

Among the follow-up actions that had been identified are:
1. Improvement of the cleanliness level of the beach;

 
2. Upgrading of the landscaping through planting of more trees;

 
3. Improvement of the security aspect by improving the public-safety features such as the lighting facilities, and to conduct regular security patrols;

 
4. To improve the orderliness of the place especially the hawkers stalls and eateries; and

 
5. All other actions which required the cooperation and involvement of all quarters.

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