Malaysians indifferent to ruling

StarMetro visited various supermarkets, hypermarkets, and department stores in Kuala Lumpur on Saturdays for three months. The indifference was shocking.

Everywhere we went; it was hard to find people who brought their reusable bags when shopping. Safe to say that less than 5% did so.

We found out that the general perception among consumers was that many were aware of the ruling but they tend to forget to bring a recyclable bag.

At Giant Plaza OUG, people were using the white plastic rolled bags, meant for loose vegetables, to carry their shopping items.

At Tesco Puchong, there were not many people around, perhaps claims that people avoided shopping on Saturdays because they did not want to pay for the plastic bag were true.

At the NSK hypermarket in Kuchai Lama, plastic bags were given to customers with no questions asked. Shoppers did not have to pay the 20sen for it.

When we asked the cashier why customers were not being informed about no plastic bags on Saturday, the cashier said it was up to the customer whether they wanted to pay 20sen for a plastic bag.

The cashier then pointed to a box with the words “Tabung Bumi Hijau. Seikhlas Hati Menyokong Kempen Ini”.

Apparently it was a voluntary thing. We wondered if the management was aware of the government ruling.

We then picked up the donation box and gave it a shake; there was no sound, which meant it was empty. In fact, most of the boxes were either empty or just had a few coins inside.

At another Giant outlet, when spotted with a trolley full of groceries in plastic bags, Richard Chew, 58, said he would usually bring his own bags when he shops but he forgot to bring them that day.

“I went for lunch and decided last minute to come here.

“I work in building management so I see the amount of unnecessary plastic bags being thrown away. So you would think twice about using plastic bags if you were in my shoes,” he said.

At a Guardian outlet in Mid Valley, we noticed hardly anyone came in with a bag.

“Out of 10 people, maybe one will have their own recycling bag,’’ a cashier told us.

“Sometimes hardly ever. It is not really effective,’’ he added.

Over at the Aeon Mall in Mid Valley Megamall, people did not mind paying the 20sen when asked to by the cashier.

At the supermarket area, it was a common sight to see people paying 20sen for their plastic bags.

A similar situation was reported at 7-Eleven convenience stores, 99Speedmart and petrol stations in the city, and the cashiers did not even bother to explain the “no plastic bag” ruling.

However, we did see one or two shoppers with their reusable bags.

One such person was Tan Shih Mean. The 41-year-old said she would leave five to six bags in her car for shopping.

“If we don’t start now, the future generations would be the ones to suffer,” she said.

She also said she would educate her one-year-old child on bringing his own bags.

“I will also teach him about waste segregation,” she added.