Mayor joins 200 volunteers to clean up Lutong river
MIRI: Mayor Adam Yii recently joined some 200 volunteers in a ‘gotong-royong’ (work party) to clean the Lutong river confluence next to the Lutong old airstrip.
The river- cleaning activity was conducted by Miri City Council ( MCC)’s Local Agenda 21 ( LA21) working groups – Implementation Working Group Control River Pollution in Miri and Implementation Working Group Drainage System Network – in collaboration with Community College of Miri ( KKM).
Besides representatives from various government departments and agencies, the volunteers also came from various education centres in the city such as the KKM, Cahaya Educational and Training Academy, National Youth Skills Institute ( IKBN) of Miri and Institute of Industrial Training ( ILP) Miri.
In his address, Yii wanted the people to continue supporting the council’s efforts in keeping the river as well as the coastal line along the city clean from debris.
“The debris, particular those made from plastic and they float, not only create an ugly scene at the river and coastal line along the city, it will also cause water pollution and bring damage to aquatic life, as well as the environment in general.
“The river is the habitat for aquatic life and it is also source of food. That’s why we have to keep the river clean.
“Towards this end, the council is giving continuous commitment to its ‘Say No To Plastic Campaign’ at participating supermarkets,” he pointed out.
The objectives of the campaign are to educate the public about and increase public awareness of reducing the usage of plastic bags here, as well as to encourage the usage of alternatives to plastic bags such as eco-bags.
Yii pointed out that total support from the public was vital to assist MCC’s efforts in making Miri ‘a truly green and sustainable city’.
Also joining the ‘gotong-royong’ were Miri LA21 Implementation Working Group Control River Pollution in Miri chairman Joseph Uyo and KKM director Fadil Aziz.