Growing movement: Over 100 volunteers have taken part in beach-cleaning activities organised by Chuah (in blue shirt and green headband) and her group, Malaysia Environment Pioneer.
MUAR: Amber Chuah’s sojourn to a beach near Muar to seek some solace last December upended her life completely.
Instead of getting that dose of inner peace she was looking for, she was stunned to see an expanse of litter on the coastline around Tanjung Emas.
The 29-year-old freelancer said she was feeling emotionally drained and thought a trip to the beach would clear her mind and recharge her.
“Instead of peace, I was met with plastic bags floating in the waves and trash lodged in the sand.
“The sight was overwhelming, so I decided to return the next day with rubbish bags and a pair of tongs to pick up the trash,” she said, narrating how her one-woman crusade gave birth to a beach clean-up movement in the area.
Chuah said that picking up litter gave her a sense of gratification, and it eventually turned into a routine for her.
About a month later, an elderly woman spotted Chuah doing her usual clean-up and offered her a pair of gloves for protection.
“To my surprise, the woman also put on gloves and joined me in picking up trash along the coastline.
“That moment really touched me and made me realise I was not alone, and maybe others would want to help, too,” she said.
The encounter gave Chuah the courage to start the Malaysia Environment Pioneer group to rally more volunteers for a common purpose.
The group had since organised several beach-cleaning events in Muar and Desaru, attracting over 110 volunteers aged from three to 70.
Together, they have collected more than 550kg of waste, of which some 80% were single-use plastics.
“Besides that, we also unearthed odd items such as dentures, children’s schoolbags, kites, a police hat, condoms and even a washed-up mattress.
“The mattress was an eye-opener for many of us – it was a sad reminder of how much people still treat the ocean like a dumping ground,” she said, noting that most of the trash collected was not biodegradable and posed a long-term threat to the marine ecosystem.
Chuah is thankful for the support of the Muar Municipal Council and Pengerang Municipal Council as her group managed to obtain year-round permission to carry out their activities at selected beaches.
“Both local authorities have also been actively supportive and encouraging, deploying staff and rubbish collection trucks to assist during clean-up days.
“My core team and I are working towards registering the group as an official non-governmental organisation with the Registrar of Societies to scale up operations beyond Johor,” she added.
Chuah said they are also planning upcoming events, including a beach cleaning in Desaru Beach at 8am on July 19, and an internal clean-up session in collaboration with a major hypermarket chain as part of its corporate social responsibility initiative.
She hopes that her story will inspire more Malaysians to take personal responsibility for the environment, even if in small ways.
Chuah also believes that children’s involvement is crucial in shaping future environmentally-conscious individuals.
“When kids come along and see firsthand what pollution looks like, it plants a seed. Some of them even start asking their parents not to use plastic straws or to bring their own bags when shopping – that is where change starts.”
