PETALING JAYA: A teacher from Sabah has won the Special Award at the 2025 Sust
ainability Waste Awareness and Responsible Action (Swara) Awards.
Sirhajwan Idek (pic), an English language teacher at Keningau Vocational College (KVC), was one of 12 finalists shortlisted for the regional honour, with four ultimately receiving awards during a hybrid ceremony yesterday.
Organised by the South-East Asian Regional Centre for Tropical Biology, the 2025 Swara Awards recognise innovative projects that reduce and manage food waste, promote circular economy practices and inspire community action.
Winners received certificates of achievement, plaques and cash prizes across four categories: Best Practice, Best Programme Concept, Public Choice Award and Special Award.
Sirhajwan was the only Malaysian finalist awarded the Special Award for his exceptional work in guiding his students to transform food waste, including fish scales, fruits and rice, into food products, cosmetic ingredients and cleaning solutions.
For the Swara Awards, he submitted a project titled “Upcycled Food Waste Social Entrepreneurship”.
“His students’ innovations have gained national and international recognition, including awards at various competitions, published academic articles and several commercialised products.
“They have also undertaken volunteer initiatives, such as cleaning school drains using their own green waste-derived cleaning agents,” KVC said yesterday.
Sirhajwan 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.
