KUCHING: The Kota Samarahan Municipal Council (MPKS) and the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) Faculty of Language and Communication are working together to make Samarahan a clean, safe, and green area.

MPKS chairman Datuk Peter Minos said the collaboration would focus on educating the public under the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to change the people’s mind and mentality on waste management and clean culture.

“The educative role will be supported by demonstrations of gotong-royong or communal work and talks on cleanliness, both at home and outside.

“MPKS will organise public talks and communal work while UNIMAS will assist in getting student volunteers,” he said yesterday (Aug 3).

Minos said it was entirely up to the residents rather than leaving it to MPKS alone to ensure the cleanliness of Samarahan.

He said MPKS would also rope in Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) to educate Samarahan residents on waste management and cleanliness.

“A ‘war’ is needed to fight against illegal dumping, throwing rubbish on the roads, drains, streams, and open spaces. The culprit will be made to open their minds and eyes on how bad indiscriminate littering is,” he said.

Minos prised local universities like UNIMAS and UiTM as well as their students for working hand in hand with the local council on cleanliness and greenery programmes.

“Once the clean culture is adopted and imbedded in the people’s minds, it is very much easier for the town to always be neat and clean.

“It will also allow for a smoother progress in attaining and achieving the UN’s SDGs,” he said.