Kod Blue participants posing with the event banner in Pulau Tioman.
MORE THAN 26,000kg of rubbish was collected throughout September for International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day and World Cleanup Day (WCD).
Among the most common items collected were 39,453 plastic bottles, followed by 34,789 cigarette butts and 29,298 plastic or foam pieces.
For the day, 10,209 Malaysians and visitors collected and separated rubbish along coastlines all over Malaysia.
Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) chief operating officer Theresa Ng said, “It is great to see people of various backgrounds and ages come together to combat marine pollution.
“This initiative not only helps clean our coastlines but also raises awareness on the effects of our consumption and habits when it comes to waste. You get to see where rubbish ends up when it is out of our sight.”
RCM has coordinated nationwide ICC days in Malaysia every year since 2018.
Data collected during ICC is keyed into Clean Swell app to contribute to the global database of cleanups by Ocean Conservancy.
The activity was part of an initiative to clean up the country’s beaches for International Coastal Cleanup Day and World Cleanup Day, which saw volunteers gathering up marine debris.
Selangor princess Tengku Zatashah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, a well-known environmental and social activist, is no stranger to beach cleanups.
Her Royal Highness is also a strong supporter of the ICC movement.
“The plastic pollution problem is a serious one. It is not enough to just talk about it, we must take action to combat it,” said Tengku Zatashah, who joined ICC Day at a beach in Morib, Selangor this year.
WCD Malaysia country leader Henry Teh who is also Malaysian Humanitarian Foundation executive director said, “It is important for all of us to join hands to clean up together as a big family in Malaysia. We cannot do it alone.”
He congratulated RCM for its effort in bringing corporate companies and volunteers together for beach cleanups.
This year’s ICC Day in Malaysia was supported by TechnipFMC as its environment, social and governance (ESG) initiative.
TechnipFMC was joined by 360 employees and their families to clean up Pantai Remis, Selangor and Pantai Batu Layar, Johor.
TechnipFMC Subsea Projects & Asia Pacific Area vice-president Jason Labani said the company placed great emphasis on ESG in line with its scorecard for 2021-2023.
“It’s also a way to promote strong teamwork and engagement between TechnipFMC Malaysia employees as the programme runs simultaneously on the same day across different beaches in Malaysia,” he said.
RCM also organised its inaugural ICC Day themed “Kod Blue: Laut Needs You” in Kampung Paya, Pulau Tioman.
In a nod to “code blue” used in hospitals in certain countries to mean a medical emergency, the theme is a wake-up call and call to action, as the ocean needs urgent help.
RCM chief programme officer Alvin Chelliah who is based in Pulau Tioman said, “We are answering the ‘Kod Blue’ activated due to threats faced by our oceans.
“It is important to not only show people the effects of marine debris but also involve them in the process of protecting our ocean.”
The event was organised in collaboration with Lions Club, Life Initiative for Environment, UDive and RipCurl, and made possible with the support of Migalabs, HydroFlask, PADI and PADI Aware.
Kampung Paya was chosen as the venue in light of the recent success in stopping the construction of a new airport on Pulau Tioman.
Kampung Paya is one of the villages that would have been greatly affected by construction as the airport was to be built right at its doorstep.
Kod Blue saw Lions Club members and volunteers cleaning the beach and diving to remove coral predators, the crown-of-thorns starfish.
The first ever “pasar malam mesra alam” (eco-friendly night market) was also organised, with 10 stall holders from the community providing a range of local foods, which proved popular with visitors.
Kod Blue was also attended by RCM ambassadors Baki Zainal and Sharifah Sofia, with the latter conducting a children’s workshop.
The event also featured lucky draws and interactive education elements.
“We are happy the Kampung Paya community was supportive of this event,” said Alvin.
“They are already asking us to organise the event again next year.”
