KUCHING: Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah calls for support from the private sector — especially industrial manufacturers who care for the environment — to implement an eco-friendly green initiative.
According to Abdul Karim, as the state government is progressing into this slowly, the ministry hopes that the private sector and those who care for the environment could support them in tackling the issue on plastic waste.
“For now, we have the support from city councils in taking this initiative. At the same time, there are various shopping complexes in the city implementing their own eco-friendly green initiatives as well,” he said during a visit to the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) held at the Sarawak Cultural Village.
Abdul Karim also said that this initiative has been implemented by the ministry beforehand such as the Green Initiative in collaboration with the Sarawak Forestry Department which manage to rehabilitate mangrove trees around the coastal areas.
“For this year’s RWMF, we are taking an approach where we don’t encourage visitors or patrons to bring their own plastic bottles.
“As substitute, visitors are offered a portable metal cup in collaboration with Trienekens which could be a souvenir for them.
“We have to make the people aware on the importance of protecting our environment.
“Other than signs, we have also set up various stop points for recycling and a food composting centre as an initiative for an eco-friendly green future,” he said.
