STHEM INSTILS LOVE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AMONGST ITS STUDENTS
UUM ONLINE: In conjunction with the World Clean-Up Day, students from the School of Tourism, Hospitality and Environment Management (STHEM) decided to get their hands dirty and together conduct a “gotong-royong” around the compounds of UUM in order to ensure its environment stays beautiful and pristine.
According to lecturer, Mr. Muhammad Fauzi Mokhtar, World Clean-Up Day is a global event celebrated by various parties in Malaysia in ways of organising clean-up activities and collection of garbage in their respective areas.
He reiterated that, UUM is renowned for its beautiful nature landscapes surrounded by its invaluable fauna flora but the trash that can be seen everywhere is definitely an eyesore.
"I see people throwing garbage as they please and such irresponsible act should not be instilled amongst the younger generation, when in actual fact we should educate the younger generation to preserve and conserve nature that they will inherit.
"The programme involved some 32 volunteers comprising students who pursue three programmes at STHEM, namely Bachelor of Tourism Management (BTM), Bachelor of Hospitality Management (BHM) and Bachelor of Event Management (BEM)," he said.
He further added that all the rubbish collected was sorted according to types such as plastics, glass bottles, plastic bottles, styrofoam, aluminum and iron to help facilitate the management of solid waste.
The volunteers began picking up garbage from the Guthrie Lake as they slowly made their way by walking down along the lakeside route to Varsity Mall. They eventually collected a total of 28 plastic bags containing rubbish, weighing more than 60 kilograms.
Student from the Bachelor of Hospitality Management Programme, Mr. Mohammad Norizwan Mohd Ali, 23, said the programme successfully inculcated the sense of awareness to appreciate and conserve the environment amongst students.
"The beauty of a certain place will be ruined by the site of rubbish, an area can look clean, but if there is rubbish, then the area might potentially be a breeding ground for viruses especially the virus spread by Aedes mosquitoes that can be deadly.
"Empty cans, bottles, containers are the breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes, so through “gotong-royong”, cleaning up an area can help combat Dengue while ensuring a healthy environment," he commented.
Besides that the students also had the opportunity to enjoy the fresh air while spending time with friends and lecturers thus strengthening their relationship.
Meanwhile, student of the Bachelor of Hospitality Management programme, Ms. Faten Atierah Hamzah, 22, said that maintaining and conserving the environment is the responsibility of everyone.
"It's time for students to return back to UUM and hope that all parties, be it students, staff or traders will keep clean and will not throw rubbish as they please, think of UUM as our own home," she said.
Translated by Mahaliza Mahadhir