Lions Club of Perak Silver State and KOHIJAU Organise 3 in 1 Environment Project

 23 Feb 2025

Lions Club of Perak Silver State teamed up with KOHIJAU to organise the 3 in 1 Environment, Health Talk and Hunger Relief projects especially for Muslim Senior Citizens of Kinta Heights in conjunction with the upcoming Puasa and Hari Raya.

The projects initiated by Zone 14 Chairperson, Ln Dr. Richard Ng was participated by LCSPSS President, Ln Wong Tong Meng, VP Ln Tina Leong, BOD Members Ln Girlie Lim and Ln Shirley Foong as well as Ln Leong Cheok Lung from LC Ipoh Central, KOHIJAU Secretary Thinakaran and Mona from Plastic Recycling Factory.

25 senior citizens from Kinta Heights were given a talk on Climate Change and importance of taking climate Action to save our planet. They were also shown how to make eco-bricks.

The participants were also given a talk on health awareness especially High Blood Pressure, High Blood Sugar, Diabetes, Cholestetol and protecting their Liver.

After the talk they were presented Groceries and other food items to ease their burden on high cost of living in view of the upcoming Fasting month.

Mentoring Session on Ipoh Doughnut Economy

 20 Feb 2025: 

Mentoring Session on Ipoh Doughnut Economy organised by Sunway Planetary Health Centre in collaboration with Ipoh City Council.

I am honoured to be invited to share my years of community service experience to 60 participants from NGOs and Civil Servants.

The Doughnut Economy is an economic model proposed by British economist Kate Raworth in her 2017 book Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist. It presents a framework for achieving sustainable development by balancing human needs and planetary boundaries.

Concept of the Doughnut Model

The model is visually represented as a doughnut with two rings:

1. The Inner Ring (Social Foundation): Represents the minimum standards for human well-being, such as food, water, healthcare, education, and political participation. Falling below this leads to poverty and deprivation.

2. The Outer Ring (Ecological Ceiling): Represents the environmental limits we must not exceed, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Exceeding this causes ecological damage.

The safe and just space for humanity lies between these two rings, where human needs are met without over-exploiting the planet.

Key Principles of Doughnut Economics

1. Rethinking Growth – Moving beyond GDP as the main measure of success.

2. Regenerative Economy – Creating a circular economy that reduces waste and regenerates resources.

3. Redistributive Economy – Ensuring fair distribution of wealth and resources.

4. Embedded Economy – Recognizing that the economy exists within society and nature, not separate from them.

5. Systems Thinking – Understanding interconnectedness rather than linear economic models.

Practical Applications

Cities like Amsterdam, Brussels, and Copenhagen have adopted the Doughnut framework to guide policies on housing, energy, and sustainability.

Mooted by the Ipoh City Council (MBI), a total 21 area of focus or dimensions have been identified as follows:

 SOCIAL FOUNDATION (12 Dimensions)

- Food

- Health 

- Education 

- Income and Work

- Housing

- Networks (transport, digital, community)

- Energy 

- Water and Sanitation

- Peace and Justice 

- Political Voice

- Social equity

- Gender equality 

ECOLOGICAL CEILING (9 Dimensions)

- Climate change

- Ocean acidification 

- Chemical pollution 

- Excessive fertiliser use

- Freshwater withdrawal

- Land conversion 

- Biodiversity loss

- Air pollution 

- Ozone layer depletion

I shared my experience on Environment, Food Security, Hunger Relief and Being a Good Ancestor.

Green Our Earth, Save Our Future Generations at SK Methodist Tg Rambutan

Lions Cub of Perak Silver State in collaboration with SK Methodist Tg Rambutan will be planting trees at the school in conjunction with the school's month long STEM programme on 17 May 2024.

The trees chosen to be planted are of the Ficus Elastica species which can sequestrate CO2 and release Oxygen besides beautifying the school with its ornamental nature.

The trees planted will be given a tag number from No. 135 to 137 which means these are the 135t to 137th trees being planted, an initiative of Lions Club of Perak Silver State under its President, Dr. Richard Ng.

Dr. Richard Ng, was awarded the JCIM 2018 and 2022 "Best in Climate Change" national awards. recently he was awarded the Top President 2023-2024 award by Lions Club District 308B2 Governor, Lion Dr. Alan Thoo.

A Health Carnival will also be held on the same day with the support from Pantai Hospital Ipoh, SL Chan Optometrist, Pure Sound Tech Enterprise, JINHO Wellness and Eye Mission. Teachers and students will be given FREE Health Screening which include; Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar, BMI, Eye and Ear Check. There is a free demonstration of the use of Meridien Physio Machine.

Programme Report:

This morning, Lions Club of Perak Silver State held a successful Health Carnival and Tree Planting at SK Methodist  Tg. Rambutan, in conjunction with the school's month long STEM programme. Together with Pantai Hospital Ipoh, which helps to do the BP, glucose, and BMI screening, the programme was also supported by SL Chan Optometrist,  Pure Sound Tech Enterprise for eye and ear test as well JINHO Wellness for Meridian Physio and Eye Mission for eye test. 

Presents this morning include; Puan Fauziah Binti Zun, Headmaster of SK Methodist and Ms. Yow Huai Mim. Acting CEO of Pantai Hospital Ipoh .

An MOU was signed between SK Methodist and LCPSS as well as PHI for future collaboration to help uplift the education quality of the students.

Three Ficus Elastica trees were planted at the school compound with QR code tag containing info about the trees planted. LCPSS with 7 members led by President Dr. Richard Ng and participated by 300 students and 20 volunteers.

About Ficus Elastica:

According to Wikipedia, Ficus elastica, the rubber fig, rubber bush, rubber tree, rubber plant, or Indian rubber bush, Indian rubber tree, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to eastern parts of South and Southeast Asia. It has become naturalized in Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and the US state of Florida. Despite its common names, it is not used in the commercial production of natural rubber.

It is a large tree in the banyan group of figs, growing to 30–40 m (100–130 ft) – rarely up to 60 m or 195 ft – tall, with a stout trunk up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in diameter. The trunk develops aerial and buttressing roots to anchor it in the soil and help support heavy branches.

It has broad shiny oval leaves 10–35 cm (4–14 in) long and 5–15 cm (2–6 in) broad; leaf size is largest on young plants (occasionally to 45 cm or 17+1⁄2 in long), much smaller on old trees (typically 10 cm or 4 in long). The leaves develop inside a sheath at the apical meristem, which grows larger as the new leaf develops. When it is mature, it unfurls and the sheath drops off the plant. Inside the new leaf, another immature leaf is waiting to develop.

Green Our Earth Save Our Future Generations at Tmn Kledang Permai organised by Lions Club of Perak Silver State

In conjunction with World Earth Day 2024, Lions Club of Perak Silver State once again led a group of NGOs and Corporate Company in taking part to carry out climate action programmes on 21st April 2024 starting at 8.30am at Taman Kledang Permai Padang (opposite Loyal Academy).

Nine other NGOs and Organisations are joining in to carry out climate action programmes which include Tree Planting, Environment Talk, Eco-bricks making and managing trees already planted. Among the participating NGO and Companies include; Lions Club of Ipoh Centennial, Lions Club of Bukit Mertajam Horizon, Pantai Hospital Ipoh, Koperasi Alam Hijau Perak Berhad, Ipoh City Watch, Pertubuhan Komuniti Kepolisan Bukit Merah, Loyal Academy and Pertubuhan Rakan Komunti Pendidikan Perak.

Earth Day is an international day devoted to our planet. It draws attention to the environment and promotes conservation and sustainability.

Each year on 22 April, around 1 billion people around the world take action to raise awareness of the climate crisis and bring about behavioural change to protect the environment.

Participation in Earth Day can take many forms, including small home or classroom projects like planting a herb garden or picking up litter. People also volunteer to plant trees, join other ecological initiatives or take part in street protests about climate change and environmental degradation.

Official Earth Day campaigns and projects aim to increase environmental literacy and bring together like-minded people or groups to address issues such as deforestation, biodiversity loss and other challenges.

The global theme for this year's Earth Day is 'Planet vs. Plastics', which recognizes the threat plastics pose to human health and with campaigners demanding a 60% reduction in the production of plastics by 2040.

Among the highlights of our event include:
a. Planting 16 trees comprise of Ficus Elastica, Bucida, Eugenia and Tecoma
b. Tree Tagging
c. Tree Maintenance
d. Environment Talk
e. Education and Awareness
f. Eco-bricks making
g. Environment Quiz

YDH Toh Seri Bijaya Dato' Shaharudin Bin Hj Nazari, Orang Besar Jajahan Manjung has consented to grace the occassion. 

The location map of the tree planting venue is as show below:

Sixteen Trees will be planted comprised of 6 Ficus Elastica, 6 Bucida, 2 Tecoma and 2 Eugenia with Serial number starting from LCPSS-WED-120-04-24 to LCPSS-WED-135-04-24.

Some of the Tree Tagging with OR code for the public to scan and obtain information about the trees planted, who planted, when planted and its carbon sequestration.

 Details of the programme:

60 Volunteers turned up for the programme as early as 8.30am located next to The Loyal Academy in Taman Kledang Permai, Falim, Ipoh. They are from Lions Club of Perak Silver State, Lions Club of Ipoh Centennial and Lions Club of Bukit Mertajam Horizon.

Others include Pantai Hospital Ipoh, Persatuan Keselamatan Komuniti Bukit Merah, Maahad Tafiz Sg. Kati and SK Panglima Bukit Gantang. The programme was graced by YDH Toh Seri Bijaya Lt. Kol (B) Dato' Shaharudin Bin Hj Nazari, OBJ Manjung.

16 trees were planted comprised of Bucida, Eugenie, Ficus Elastica and Tecome. After the tree planting session, participants attended an Climate Action Talk by Dr. Richard Ng, President of the Lions Club of Perak Silver State. All participants received a certificate of appreciation presented by Dato' Shaharuddin.

1. Ficus Elastica:

According to Wikipedia, Ficus elastica, the rubber fig, rubber bush, rubber tree, rubber plant, or Indian rubber bush, Indian rubber tree, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to eastern parts of South and Southeast Asia. It has become naturalized in Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and the US state of Florida. Despite its common names, it is not used in the commercial production of natural rubber.

It is a large tree in the banyan group of figs, growing to 30–40 m (100–130 ft) – rarely up to 60 m or 195 ft – tall, with a stout trunk up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in diameter. The trunk develops aerial and buttressing roots to anchor it in the soil and help support heavy branches.

It has broad shiny oval leaves 10–35 cm (4–14 in) long and 5–15 cm (2–6 in) broad; leaf size is largest on young plants (occasionally to 45 cm or 17+1⁄2 in long), much smaller on old trees (typically 10 cm or 4 in long). The leaves develop inside a sheath at the apical meristem, which grows larger as the new leaf develops. When it is mature, it unfurls and the sheath drops off the plant. Inside the new leaf, another immature leaf is waiting to develop.

2. Bucida:

A fast-growing tree that reaches between 10-20 m in height and spread to about 10-15 m wide. Its crown is layered in symmetrical tiers. The simple, unifoliate and variegated leaves are whorled along the stem. Leaves are small, measuring 2-5 cm long and 1 cm wide.
It is mottled grey-green with irregular creamy-white border, young leaves pinkish-red, margins uneven to crenate, produced in whorls at branch tips.

The twigs grow densely in storeys on whorls around the woody trunk.
Its bark is smooth, mottled pale grey, with protruding brownish streaks or spots.
Its deep anchoring roots make it able to endure high winds with little damage. Big matured tree fetch a really good price (RM>1k) in the market

3. Tecoma:

Tecoma is a genus of 14 species of shrubs or small trees in the trumpet vine family, Bignoniaceae originated from South America. It is also known as Trumpetbush and always being compared with Sakura trees in Japan. It blooms normally between February and April each year.

The tecoma trees will grow to maximum height of 25m with carbon sequestration of approximately 7,000 kg. 

Four interesting facts about 'Sakura Look-alike' Tecoma Trees that we see in Malaysia (See the following link):

https://hello.tourplus.my/festive-seasons/4-interesting-facts-about-the-sakura-look-alike-tecoma-trees-that-we-see-in-malaysia/

 4. Eugenia:

Common Name: Eugenia oleina
Botanical Name: Syzygium myrtifolium
Full Grown Height: 6  m
Spacing: 2-5 m