Good Afternoon ladies and gentlemen.
First of all, I would like to extend my warm welcome and gratitude for your gracious presence today, in promoting the Environment Day Programme, organised by Penang Green Council (PGC), Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) and Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC).
The programme explores the following theme, “Pulau Aman Saya Bersih dan Hijau”. The main objective of the programme is to cultivate a love for the environment and to educate the community about waste management, especially waste segregation at source and composting. Besides that, the programme also aims to encourage the community to recycle in our daily life to be in line with the State Government’s vision to increase the efficiency of recycling and recyclables-buyback processes.
Penang Green Council (PGC) is a state agency established to carry out activities and programmes in Penang, involving both children and adults. House-to-house Education Campaign, Green Camp, Youth Camp and Penang Green Carnival are among the programmes which are being conducted by PGC. These programmes seek to educate and encourage the people of Penang to understand the importance of conserving the environment and its impact to human beings.
The Federal Government has made it mandatory to separate solid waste at source beginning 1 September 2015 in 6 states and the Federal Territories, while the Penang State Government will implement the mandatory solid waste segregation starting June 2016. Therefore, PGC has conducted a study on the public perception of Penang residents towards waste separation at source and recycling activities from 29 July 2015 till 29 September 2015. A total of 1,484 respondents have responded to the survey. Analysis result shows that majority of the respondents understood the 3R concept and practice it in their daily lives. Most of the respondents separate recyclable items such as paper (80.20%), newspaper (76.9%), however, the rate for electronic waste is lower at 35%. The majority of respondents (86.5%) supported that law to be enforced to increase recycling rate in Penang. In order to raise the awareness and exposure on the new policy, the State Government is making an effort to spread information to ensure that the public is well aware and is practicing waste separation through programmes such as one being held at Pulau Aman today.
The programme today is not only an initiative by the State Government to make Pulau Aman a beautiful island, but also to raise its standard as a world’s known tourist attraction for both local and foreign tourists. The State Government hopes that the residents in Pulau Aman will be able to treat the island like their own homes to have a better sense of belonging. The local residents need to be more responsible towards the island’s cleanliness because the island is your “home”. Instead of depending on others, we are the ones who should be responsible for our home cleanliness when it is dirty. Hence, “Halaman Rumah Tercantik” contest is being introduced in this programme to embolden the residents of Pulau Aman in maintaining the cleanliness and beauty of the home surrounding. The contest duration is 3 months, starting from 12 December 2015 to 12 March 2016.
Lastly, congratulations to the organisers – Penang Green Council, Seberang Perai Municipal Council and Penang Women’s Development Corporation for this meaningful event. Kudos to all! To the residents of Pulau Aman, thank you for your contribution in securing the future of our children for a Cleaner, Greener, Safer and Healthier Penang.
Thank you!