KUCHING: A local artwork, ‘The Turtle in the Ocean’, has been recorded as the Biggest Straw Art Installation in the Malaysia Book of Records.
It is said that the artwork was a collaboration between the Kuching South City Council (MBKS) and NakedWonders and was completed by local artist Daphne Siaw.
NakedWonders founder Andre Kho said it took two weeks to fully construct the six metre wide and three metre high artwork.
He added that its completion would not have been possible without the help of a group of volunteers aged between five and 61.
“For this, we reached out to schools, colleges and universities to help us.
“We even had little ones from kindergarten come to our rescue,” he said after the launching of Make Climate Cool Again in conjunction with Earth Day 2023 at Dewan Masyarakat MBKS here on yesterday (Apr 30).
With the involvement of the community, he hoped the public will be more aware of the environment and change their habits starting from the usage of the plastic straw.
“From banning the usage of plastic straw, we can go for bigger things to help our environment.
“Aside from that, I believe that organising events and exhibitions such as this will be able to inspire everyone, young and old, to adopt eco-friendly practices and make positive contributions to the earth to create a sustainable future for us and our future generation,” he said.
MBKS and NakedWonders had been working hand in hand to educate the public and provide biodegradable alternatives to plastic straws called fan straws.
“We are proud to announce that since MBKS imposed the plastic straw ban in its jurisdiction in July 2022, we have prevented over three million plastic straws to date from entering waterways and landfills,” he said.
Earlier, Malaysia Book of Records senior record consultant Edwin Yeoh presented the honour to MBKS Mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng witnessed by Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
The number of straws used to complete the artwork was not revealed as currently, there is an ongoing guessing contest offered to the community in conjunction with the expo, which lasts until May 8.
