Sending a clear message against plastic are Girl Guides from the Tenom district in Sabah.
SHE may have been suffering from a stiff neck but Shirley Wong, 64, was not going to let it stop her from taking part in a clean-up at Kota Kinabalu’s Likas Bay in Sabah.
Wearing a neck brace, the Malaysian Girl Guides Association Sabah commissioner headed a team of 500 students, teachers and volunteers to clear plastic waste at the beach from 8am to 11am.
“We managed to collect 50 large boxes of plastic waste and Kota Kinabalu City Hall helped us remove the rubbish.
“Seeing how clean the beach had become made me forget that I had a stiff neck,” said Wong, who joined the movement while a student at SM Convent St Cecilia in 1973.
Girl Guides from Teluk Intan helping to clean up the Bagan Datuk jetty.
The clean-up was not an isolated event but part of a nationwide effort which saw the mass participation of Fireflies, Brownies, Junior Guides, Rangers, Cadets, Clovers and Trefoil Guild members from all districts in Malaysia.
Called the “Plastic Busters Beach-River-Park Clean-Up” programme, a search on social media showed large groups of volunteers descended on a park, river, beach or public area in their respective communities to pick up plastic waste starting from 8am on July 8.
True to the movement’s adventurous spirit, not even rain could dampen participants’ enthusiasm as seen in one video sent by the Kedah branch in Kuala Sanglang.
Girl Guides from SK Sungai Tua Baru taking part in the programme at Metropolitan Park in Kepong.
This was the first nationwide project to be headed by Datuk Yeoh Soo Keng as the newly elected chief commissioner of Malaysian Girl Guides Association.
Yeoh, who is also president of the association’s Kuala Lumpur branch, was elected to the chief commissioner post on June 24.
The official launch of the Plastic Busters programme took place at the Kuala Selangor Indoor Stadium in Selangor.
left pic: Wong (in neck brace) heading a team of 500 at likas Bay in Kota Kinabalu during the ‘Plastic Busters Beach-river-Park Clean-up’.
It was attended by Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah and Tengku Permaisuri Selangor Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin, the royal patrons of the association.
Also present was Bandar Tun Razak MP Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail who is the association’s president.
Over 1,000 Girl Guides from Kuala Selangor and Hulu Selangor participated in the main event where they also upcycled plastic waste into handicraft for a competition.
Girl Guides in action during the programme at Pantai Remis in Selangor.
Winners personally received prizes from the Queen.
In her speech, Yeoh, who grew up in Kuala Selangor, said Girl Guides should become agents of change in the battle against plastic pollution.
“We believe that only through education and exposure can we make a difference.
“Through carefully designed joint initiatives with local communities, we will definitely succeed in producing actions capable of having a positive and meaningful impact,” said Yeoh whose membership in the movement can be traced back to SMK (P) Bukit Bintang in 1976.
(Above, at front from second right) Tunku Azizah, Dr Wan Azizah, Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin, Fadhlina and Yeoh at the event in Kuala Selangor Indoor Stadium looking at handicraft made by the Girl Guides using plastic waste.Left pic: Wong (in neck brace) heading a team of 500 at Likas Bay in Kota Kinabalu during the ‘Plastic Busters Beach-River-Park Clean-Up’.
Her list of achievements include the publication of three guidebooks for training Brownies, Girl Guides and guiders and commissioners in Kuala Lumpur, as well as a listing in the 2017 Malaysia Book of Records for the largest teddy bear heart-shaped message using 3,007 paper hearts made by more than 3,000 Girl Guides from 85 schools in Kuala Lumpur.
Under the Plastic Busters Beach-River-Park initiative, members will earn Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and Tide Turner Plastic Challenge badges, two initiatives developed by the United Nations with a view towards ending all forms of poverty, fighting inequalities and tackling climate change.
Also present at the launch were Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, Education deputy director-general Dr Norisah Suhaili, Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming, Selangor deputy police chief Deputy Comm Datuk S. Sasikala Devi Subramaniam and Selangor Girl Guides Association president Tunku Irinah Almarhum Tuanku Jaafar.
