Tourism Ministry unveils anti-littering campaign

PETALING JAYA: In an effort to fight littering, the Tourism Ministry will implement the 1Malaysia Green 1Malaysia Clean campaign after each of its major tourism events this year. Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the campaign was aimed at creating greater awareness on the problem which followed major public events, with trash strewn across the venue. “Our campaign carries the tagline ‘Think Tourism, Act Tourism’ and this is what we want to inculcate in the mind of every Malaysian,” she said at the launching of the campaign for Selangor at Sunway Pyramid here yesterday.

Stay clean: Mohd Nabil Nufail, eight, posing for a photo with the campaign mascot Mr Bin at Sunway Pyramid yesterday.

The text of her speech was read by ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Ong Hong Peng. Through the campaign, the ministry hoped to change the mindset, habit and attitude of Malaysians toward cleanliness. Dr Ng said the campaign went well with the ministry’s aim of promoting Malaysia as a high-class tourist destination, adding that it was everyone’s responsibility to keep the country clean and green.

She said Malaysia had achieved a record number of tourist arrivals of 24.6 million last year, up from 23.7 million in 2009. The tourist arrivals generated a total of RM56.5bil in receipts last year compared with RM53.4bil the previous year. “The future of our tourism industry is bright, as long as we work together in preserving our surroundings. Our goal is not just to have a clean environment, but also an environment that could be sustained for future generations,” Dr Ng added.

The campaign for Selangor is a collaborative effort with the Malaysian Plastic Manufacturers Association and plastic product manufacturerSekoplas Industries Sdn Bhd. Association president Lim Kok Boon said its role in the campaign was to encourage the public to practise the 3Rs – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. He said litter was not just an eyesore that showed Malaysia in a bad light to foreign tourists, but it also affected the environment.

-thestar online.