Don't be arrogant, Perak sultan tells religious officers - Malaysiakini

27 Sept 2016

The beauty of Islam should be reflected by enforcement officers from the Islamic Religious Department when discharging their duty by practising the missionary approach and calling on the people to do good, said the sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah.

He said they should advise the wrongdoers privately, arranging for guidance and counselling sessions behind closed doors.

"The modus operandi of the enforcement staff of the Islamic Religious Department must be based on a preventive approach instead of adopting a punitive approach," he said at the launching of the logo and strategic plan of the Perak Council on Islamic Religion and Malay Customs today.

The actions of the enforcement officers demonstrated power to the extent of ignoring courtesy, orderliness and politeness, and was not the culture propagated by Islam, said the ruler.

He said the arrogance and disparaging attitude should not be reflected by religious enforcement officers who were in the front line and exposed to public evaluation.

Sultan Nazrin said that those entrusted with the responsibility must be experts in the field, respect the law judiciously at all times without fear or favour.

Meanwhile, the ruler said the Perak Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIPk) had also taken measures to draw up a strategic plan for the next five years.

"The strategic plan is a component of the inputs containing the framework of action to achieve the mission and objectives of MAIPk," he said.

"New discoveries are found and changes occur all the time. What is considered new today, can become history and archaic within a short time," he said.

Thus, Sultan Nazrin said, MAIPk must always be wary, sensitive and smart to read and interpret the dynamics occurring, and be ready to make transformations to the strategy that had been approved, in line with the current changes and developments in the world and country.

The ruler said that building the image and reputation as well as developing positive public perception on MAIPk was crucial and should be given attention.

Bernama

KOHIJAU: Perak’s Solution For A Sustainable Environment - Ipoh Guide

22 Sept 2016 by James

A milestone for Ipoh and the entire state of Perak was created last Saturday September 17 2016 with the launch of co-operative Koperasi Alam Hijau or KOHIJAU.

KOHIJAU’s role is to promote recycling for a sustainable environment and to further improve the livelihood of the people by maintaining a clean environment.

The co-operative was set up by NGO Ipoh City Watch as part of its motto ‘To Make Ipoh the most livable city in Malaysia’.

The launch of its office located at Sunway City, Tambun was officiated by Hulu Kinta Assemblyman Datuk Aminuddin Md Hanafiah , Ipoh City Councilor Mazlan Abdul Rahman (Zone 4 / Perpaduan / Ulu Kinta / Tambun) and ICW President Assoc. Prof. Dr. Richard Ng.

Ng who is also KOHIJAU Chairman said the co-operative had teamed up with iCycle Malaysia, a solutions provider of waste recycling system to enhance the recycling business.

The structure will see KOHIJAU providing the business network while iCycle Malaysia will provide the business system.

Under the iCycle system recyclable collectors and contributors will earn Recycling Points which can be exchanged with cash or products similar to the Bonus Link system.

Ng added that KOHIJAU has projected to sign up at least 10 corporate members, 20 schools and 100 individuals to be part of its KOHIJAU-iCycle project.

“Todate, KOHIJAU has appointed Winland Resources Sdn Bhd, the developer for Ipoh Loyal Apartment as its first corporate member.

Other members include Rukun Tetangga Jelapang, the Residents Association of Desa Tambun Indah and SMK Raja Chulan, Ipoh, Perak.

The public be it individuals, NGO or companies may apply to participate in this system where their contribution through recycling and garbage separation will earn them incentives in the form of recycling points. There is no entry fee at the moment.

iCycle Director Dr Tan Ching Seong explained that members will be provided with an account number.

Members will also be provided barcode stickers with their account numbers indicated.

“iCycle accepts all clean, dry and non food items. Place the items in a bag and paste a bar code label on the bag.

“We will collect the bag, sort the items and post your points for the items collected to your personal account which can be checked via internet” said Tan.

Ng anticipated that their members are expected to contribute 10,000kg of recyclables per month.

“With recycling points being given out as incentives in exchange for cash or products, this system can help create a sustainable recycling community”.

Ng added that with the current population of Perak at 2.4 million it is estimated that a total of 16,000,000kg of garbage will be generated each month.

“By 2020, if nothing is done, Perak will have a total of 768,000,000kg of garbage which will end up in the landfills, illegal dumpsites or ocean. As such we need to practice recycling to reduce the volume of rubbish going to the landfill”.

“The national recycling target is 20% by 2020. However to promote the practice of recycling KOHIJAU will work with Perak SW Corp, local councils and other government agencies such as Rukun Tetangga to help promote recycling.

“It is expected that through this collaboration it will help to increase the recycling rate among Perakians to at least 30% by 2020 with some community reaching as high a 60% once KOHIJAU introduces organic waste composting”.

Push to get people to recycle - Star Metro Perak

2 August 2016 - by Manjit Kaur

A TEAM has been formed in Perak to educate the public to embrace recycling in order to reduce the use of plastic bags and polystyrene containers.

Ipoh City Watch (ICW) President Prof Dr Richard Ng said the main objective of the committee, known as the Perak Action Team for a Sustainable Environment (PATSE), would be to focus on the 3Es – Educating, Engaging and Exciting the public to practise the 3Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle.

Ng, who is the chairman for the action team, said the idea to set up the body was mooted after a forum by ICW was held to discuss the state government’s decision to ban plastic bags and polystyrene containers beginning next June.

During the forum titled “The Impact of Plastics on the Sustainability of Environment: Should Plastics be Banned?” held last month, State Executive Councilor Datuk Rusnah Kassim a challenged the Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association (MPMA) to come up with a convincing proposal for the state government to reconsider the decision on the ban, as currently the state stands firm on the decision.

Ng said the action committee comprises members of ICW, MPMA, state Solid Waste Management and Public Cleanliness Corporation (SWCorp), Koperasi Alam Hijau Perak Bhd (Kohijau), local councils, and representatives from the state government.

He said at the end of the forum the panelist agreed to giving the 800 members of MPM’s Perak branch a chance to prove themselves on finding a solution to the challenge by Rusnah.

“The action team will go on a statewide campaign, starting with educational road shows during the monthly Car Free Day event.

“We will also hold talks in schools, and work with any organisation which is keen to cooperate with us,” he said recently.

During the forum last month, MPMA President Datuk Lim Kok Boon urged the state government to educate the public about waste management and littering instead of banning the use of plastic bags and polystyrene containers.

Lim said the more importance should be placed on the 3Rs, something that is done in more developed countries.

Ng said ICW is concerned about the impact of plastics on the environment, but also sympathises with MPMA’s members as the banning of plastics bags will affect their revenue.

Ng said, as one of the four panelists for the forum, ICW supports the government’s move in banning the use of polystyrene and plastic bags effective June 1, next year.

“I made my point clear that by 2020, if nothing is done, Perak will generate three billion tonnes of garbage, of which 450,000 tonnes or about 15% of the total garbage consist of plastics.

“Plastics takes a few hundred years to degrade and this will impact the sustainability of our environment. Plus, plastics are made from petroleum which is a non-renewable source of energy,” he added.

Getting something out of garbage - The Star Metro Perak

22 Sept 2016 by Ivan Loh

A RECYCLING programme where people turn in rubbish for points that can be exchanged for gifts will be first conducted at a school and condominium in Ipoh.

Koperasi Alam Hijau Perak Bhd (Kohijau) Chairman Prof Dr Richard Ng said the programme, a collaboration with recycling company iCycle Malaysia, will be conducted at SMK Raja Chulan and Loyal Garden Residences.

“The school is set to begin the programme this Saturday.

“The programme will begin at the condominium by the year-end. An agreement has been made with the condominium’s management and all its residents will be programme members,” he said during the launching of Kohijau’s office at Dataran Sunway by Hulu Kinta Assemblyman Datuk Aminuddin Md Hanafiah last Saturday.

“We will provide recycling bins for the segregated garbage,” he added.

Kohijau is a cooperative set up by members of non-governmental organisation Ipoh City Watch (ICW) to improve the livelihoods of people while keeping the environment clean.

The recycling-for-points programme requires participating members to segregate their waste for collection.

The collected waste is then weighed and points allocated to the members.

The points can then be used to redeem household items or vouchers.

Ng said each registered member will be given stickers with a barcode to be put on the garbage bag.

“They will need to put the sticker on the rubbish bag before dumping iy in the recycling bin.

“After the waste is collected, it will be weighed and different types of garbage will be allocated different points. The barcode will then be scanned to allocate the points to the respective members,” he said.

“Members then log in to iCycle Malaysia’s website to check their collected points. Everything will be computerised and easy,” he added.

iCycle Malaysia Director Prof Dr Tan Ching Seong said the recycling-for-points programme has already started in Pangkor and is doing well.

He said iCycle collects various wastes that are, clean and dry, and non-food.

The main objective, Tan said, is to lessen the omount of rubbish sent to landfills.

In his opening speech earlier, Aminuddin said the people need to change their attitude towards the environment.

“They always want places to be clean but they themselves don’t make an effort.

“The responsibility of keeping a place clean not only falls on the local council or state representatives but also the people,” he said.

“I think more engagement needs to be held with the people so they are aware and to take part in recycling programmes,” he added.

Aminuddin said the Kohijau-iCycle project could rope in village chiefs to explain to them its concept.

“If people can profit from segregating their rubbish, maybe this can change their mindset,” he said.

Aminuddin also said Kohijau should seek out primary schools to take part in its programmes.

“I think children will enjoy taking part in this programme more than adults.

“We also need to start teaching the concept of taking care of the environment to the children as early as possible,” he said, adding adults might find it harder to accept new concepts.

For more details on the recycling-for-points programme, visit www.gogreenonline.net.