KUCHING: The Sarawak State Mosque Welfare Trust Board (LAKMNS) is taking significant steps to streamline its five-year green strategy improvement plan.
LAKMNS chief executive officer Datuk Abang Abdul Wahap Abang Julai said the plan is one of the efforts to support the Sarawak government’s initiative to empower environmental sustainability.
“Among other things, we also want to invite congregants and the local community to instil the habit of recycling and ‘rubbish separation at source’.
“To this end, LAKMNS has already provided separate garbage bins around the mosque and the agency’s buildings,” he said during the Maal Hijrah Festival 2023 closing ceremony at Masjid Jamek Sarawak here on yesterday (July 30).
He added that LAKMNS will also donate 20 units of garbage bins to nearby mosques and suraus, encouraging them to engage their respective communities in similar efforts.
“Besides that, we will continue to reduce the use of paper through the development of various digital applications as well as expanding the use of solar energy and LED lighting at mosques,” he added.
These initiatives are in line with their theme of “sustainability for the well-being of the community.”
Meanwhile, the festival, which took place from July 28 to 30, has proved successful in achieving its objectives.
According to Abdul Wahap, the festival took an innovative and dynamic approach to engage youths in the mosque institution.
“In other words, LAKMNS is aiming to make the mosque a healthy leisure platform. We want to steer young individuals away from unproductive activities, promoting a positive impact on their lives,” he explained.
The ceremony yesterday also saw LAKMNS launch ‘IRIS TV’, where listeners can access digital radio through Facebook and YouTube and enable them to interact with the presenters directly.
Also held at the ceremony was the presentation of prizes to the winners of the Pencak Silat Creative Arts Competition.
Also present at the ceremony were Deputy Minister of Energy and Environmental Sustainability Dr Hazland Abang Hipni; LAKMNS deputy CEO Mohamad Feisal Said and other representatives.
