By Dayangku Hidayatul
KUCHING, Dec 13: As Sarawak accelerates its move towards greener, low-carbon urban development, Deputy Minister for Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Len Talif Salleh has pushed for waste to be managed wisely under the circular economy concept.
Len Talif, who represented Deputy Premier and Second Minister for Natural Resources and Urban Development Awang Tengah Ali Hasan at the Sustainability Within, Green Earth Beyond 2025 Programme at Surau Darul Hijrah today, said the programme aims to raise community awareness on environmental sustainability and responsible natural resource management.
“This is a good initiative to raise awareness among residents so that our way of life is centred on the environment and environmental sustainability. It also encourages the recycling of waste so that items we often regard as waste can actually be used as raw material inputs to generate income for the community,” he said when speaking to reporters.
He expressed confidence that the initiative could be expanded further with the involvement of the Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA), University of Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and Kuching North City Commission (DBKU).
When asked about existing recycling initiatives such as used cooking oil collection, Len Talif said such efforts have long been implemented by the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB), DBKU and local authorities.
However, he acknowledged that recycling rates remain low and warned that unmanaged food waste from events and functions could become a serious issue in the future. He further said that the public has yet to fully embrace responsible consumption habits.
Len Talif stressed that sustainability education must begin early, including at the school level, to create future recycling ambassadors.
“What we call ‘waste’ is actually not waste,” he said, reiterating the Premier’s message: “Don’t waste the waste, monetise the waste.”
Under the programme, seven zones around the Darul Hana housing area were planted with about 210 trees, including Lagerstroemia speciosa, Mimusops elengi, White bucida and Casuarina equisetifolia.
The tree-planting initiative continues LCDA’s commitment to low-carbon urban development under the Environmental Sustainability pillar of the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.
The programme also featured sustainability exhibitions, food waste recycling demonstrations and traditional sports such as sepak raga.
Also present were Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department (Project Coordinator for Regional Development Agencies) Datuk Abdul Rahman Junaidi, LCDA general manager Datu Zaidi Mahdi, NREB Controller of Environmental Quality Datu Jack Liam, DBKU director Ramzi Abdullah, representatives of various departments, senior LCDA officers and LCDA staff. — DayakDaily
