Ipoh City Watch (ICW) and other like-minded non-governmental organisations, continued their efforts to help make Ipoh the most liveable city in Malaysia. This is the second year they carried out the cleanliness campaign in conjunction with Thaipusam celebration on Wednesday, January 31.
For this year’s campaign, ICW had teamed with Cycledios, an organisation that promotes green technology and healthy living. Cycledios provided several units of pumpkin rickshaw and tricycles for volunteers to carry placards with cleanliness messages reminding Thaipusam devotees to throw their garbage into the bins provided by Ipoh City Council.
It was a creative way to grab the public’s attention by parading in the tricycles and carrying placards with messages such as “Keep Ipoh City Clean”, “Please Throw Rubbish into the Bins” and “Our City Our Responsibility”.
The reason the campaign was carried out during Thaipusam is because the event attracts over 100,000 people each year. Despite bins being provided by Ipoh City Council, many chose to throw rubbish indiscriminately thus giving a bad impression to tourists who were here to watch the festival.
The group of volunteers who participated in the clean-up campaign included members of St John Ambulance, SMK Jalan Tasek, Ipoh, Lions Club of Perak Silver State, Rukun Tetangga Jelapang, ICycle and Koperasi Hijau (KOHIJAU).
The team was flagged off from their booth located opposite Bangunan Seri Kinta. Team members cycled and walked along the Thaipusam route until the Sri Subramniar Temple in Gunung Cheroh. Along the way, recyclables such as plastic bottles and paper boxes were picked up and placed in the pumpkin rickshaws.
At the end of the two-hour campaign, some 60kg of recyclables was collected. It caught the attention of onlookers. Many applauded the teamsters as they passed by.
Some 500 packets of food, packed in recyclable containers, were distributed to the public. Volunteers were later presented with certificates of appreciation.
Ipoh City Watch will continue with its efforts in ensuring that Ipoh not only retains its cleanest city title but help in making it the most liveable city in Malaysia. The organisation hopes more people will sign up as members of KOHIJAU-ICYCLE Recycling Reward Point System which reward those who segregate their garbage and drop their recyclables into its bins located throughout Perak.
Points are awarded based on category and weight of the recyclables, which can then be accumulated and redeemed with cash or coupons from TESCO or AEON. They can even donate their points to charity. The system enables the public to participate in recycling in a more sustainable manner.
Dr Richard Ng
