KUCHING: The Padawan Municipal Council is looking to instil environmental awareness in schoolchildren in areas under its jurisdiction.
With this in mind, MPP chairman Lo Khere Chiang encourages all kindergartens and pre-schools to actively participate in environmental competitions to be organised by the councils in the future.
“The main reason is to instil the spirit of appreciation and care for our natural fertility and the conscious to participate in maintaining our healthy environment amongst our schoolchildren, at a young age.
“I also want the next generation to value the importance of responsibility in keeping our environment clean, green and pristine forever,” he said during the landscape competition prize-giving ceremony for areas of MPP jurisdiction, here at MPP complex today.
He said the competition involved a total of 48 kindergartens and pre-schools in MPP areas. However, only 13 of the schools had managed to take part in the competition – likely due to the hiatus of the competition which has not been held since the past few years.
“Although it’s a small number after a lapse of many years, we are now reviving this competition as it is an important competition that promotes high moral values.
“I urge those who missed this year’s competition to participate in the next one as MPP will implement this competition annually,” he added.
Lo also reminded that for the sake of development, a city, such as Kuching, must sacrifice part of its greenery to give way for development which calls for innovation to utilise available spaces to preserve the environment.
As such, he hopes that Sarawak would be able to follow in the footsteps of the nation’s neighbouring country, Singapore, which is known to instil values about environmental sustainability to its schoolchildren.
“They have been taught to preserve and keep their environment clean at all times and for that reason, Singapore has been declared as the cleanest city for many years.
“We teach our children, we guide them with good principles and encourage them with good discipline – that will be good for the environment and our people can certainly do it,” he added.
