PETALING JAYA: A teacher from Sabah has won the Special Award at the 2025 Sustainability Waste Awareness and Responsible Action (Swara) Awards.
Keningau Vocational College (KVC) English language teacher Sirhajwan Idek was among 12 finalists shortlisted for the regional honour, with four ultimately selected to receive awards during a hybrid ceremony held on Wednesday (Dec 10).
Organised by the Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Tropical Biology (Seameo Biotrop), winners received certificates of achievement, plaques and cash prizes across four categories: Best Practice, Best Programme Concept, Public Choice Award and Special Award.
He was the only Malaysian finalist who was conferred the Special Award for his outstanding work in guiding students at KVC to turn food waste, including fish scales, fruits and rice, into food products, cosmetic ingredients and cleaning solutions.
For the Swara awards, he submitted the initiative under the title Upcycled Food Waste Social Entrepreneurship.
“His students’ innovations have earned national and international recognition, including awards at various competitions, published academic articles and several successfully commercialised products.
“They have also embarked on volunteer initiatives, such as cleaning school drains using their own green waste-derived cleaning agents,” KVC said in a press release today.
Sirhajwan has previously received accolades for his work in English language education and innovation, including the British Council’s ELTons Innovation Award in 2024 and the National Charismatic Youth Icon Award from the Youth and Sports Ministry in 2022.
