CITY HALL & UITM JOINT ANTI-LITTER BLITZ

CAMPAIGN.... Launching the anti-litterbug campaign at UiTM Sabah Left to right Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir, Anti-Litterbug Club President Al Fazir Bin Sali UiTM Sabah Rector Dr Hj. Abdul Kadir Rosline.

By : M. IZHAM B. HASHIM

KOTA KINABALU City Hall (DBKK) takes aim at litterbugs during the launching of an anti-litter drive at University of Technology MARA (UiTM) Sabah on Friday.

Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir said the main objective of the campaign was to make cleanliness a common culture and get people to speak out against indiscriminate littering,  change the mindset, the habit and attitude of the community towards the environment.

“Littering is a recurrent problem facing the city which produces a staggering 500 tonnes of waste daily, and this situation is made worse by people who have no respect for the environment,” he said in his keynote speech after designating UiTM Sabah as a litter-free campus.

UiTM Sabah Rector Dr Hj. Abdul Kadir Rosline believes littering is not just an environmental problem but worse, a social problem that  requires a strategy to educate and make  people aware of the adverse impact that littering has on the environment and on their own image in the eyes of the public.

Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir lamented that City Hall has long wrestled with the complex task of keeping the city litter-free but its efforts have been frustrated by people who have continued to dump their rubbish indiscriminately.

Datuk Abidin praised UiTM for upholding the litter-free campus title as well as their relentless support of DBKK’s anti-litter drive, and hoped other academic institutions can emulate the UiTM’s success.

“Promoting the campaign in universities is a great way of instilling a culture of cleanliness and respect for the environment among university students before they enter the working world,” he said.

Leading an effort to solve the city’s massive waste tonnage, Datuk Abidin said City Hall has devised a few strategies to improve the urban waste management system.

“On December 1, DBKK implemented a programme involving food premises and the market in Tanjung Aru to separate organic refuse like leftover foodstuffs from other domestic wastes, and we’re planning to expand the programme to the entire city including academic institutions.

“In relation to that, I welcome UiTM Sabah to adopt the programme,” he said, in his closing speech.

During the ceremony, Datuk Abidin also launched the UiTM Anti-Litterbug Club, organized by students from the faculty of Administrative Science, Policy Studies and Local government Studies unit.

WITNESSED.... Datuk Abidin Madingkir sign plaque witnessed by Dr. Abdul Kadir (right) and Joannes Solidau (left)

In another development, Dr Abdul Kadir  revealed that UiTM Sabah campus will be introducing a new Bachelor of Urban Administration course.

“The program offers the opportunity for students to develop skills and knowledge which cover public and community development, including urban waste management, “he said.

In response, Abidin lauded the introduction of the new course and hoped the program will produce qualified and talented graduates to help the local councils  improve urban development in the state. (Insight Sabah)