Gotong-royong activities are beneficial in building neighbourly bonds and encouraging people to keep their areas clean. — Filepic
FORMER Ipoh city councillor Dr Richard Ng believes that there is still a long way to go for Malaysians to have a better mindset in keeping the environment clean.
He said that despite the many gotong-royong and anti-littering campaigns being organised, the problem of littering still persisted.
“I believe that a massive gotong-royong is the most effective way in mobilising the local community.
ALSO READ: Making litterbugs clean up own mess
“But unfortunately, such gotong-royong only involves government agencies and certain non-governmental organisations (NGO), while the local community is not engaged or empowered to participate,” he said.
He added that it also did not produce an effective solution to many illegal dumping grounds.
“A gotong-royong is more than just a temporary fix.
Children should be educated on proper rubbish disposal.
“It builds a sense of belonging and civic-consciousness to respect the environment and inspire collective action to end littering of waste.”
Ng, who is the Ipoh City Watch president, also called on local councils to actively engage the community, especially NGOs and schools, to carry out more awareness campaigns on keeping the environment clean and sustainable.
He said the city council should make the community its partner and empower the people to be their eyes and ears to report litterbugs.
“Whistleblowers should also be given incentives for their efforts.
“The city council must actively involve the community in promoting and practising a recycling culture too,” he added.
Ng said that although Ipoh City Council (MBI) provided free rubbish bins to selected residential areas, the effort had not proven effective in educating and changing people’s mindset.
“The collection of rubbish, recyclables and garden refuse by MBI must also be efficient,” he added.
