Beach Clean-up at Teluk Pelanduk, Port Dickson

English

12 January 2019: Cenergi SEA Sdn Bhd (Cenergi), a major player in Malaysia’s renewable energy industry teamed up with the Malayan Sub Aqua Club (MSAC) to support The Beach School for a beach cleanup in Port Dickson on Saturday 12th January 2019.

Mr Kent Leong from The Beach School, a non-profit group, lead the initiative. Leong, who works full time in Kuala Lumpur, has been promoting beach preservation efforts on his own initiative for the past two years after being encouraged by his wife who shares his passion for marine life.

“My fascination and experience with nature, particularly the beach started at the very tender age of two growing up at the Maybank bungalows of Blue Lagoon, Tanjung Tuan. Throughout those times, I spent a lot of time alone in nature and eventually self-taught myself the behaviours of marine animals.”

Unfortunately, the severity of the pollution at Port Dickson worsened over time as Leong recounts, “At that time, the most evident pollution was the black waste of engine oil that tankers released into the sea. It ended up on beaches all along the Port Dickson coastline. I remember this vividly as my parents had to use kerosene to wipe it off my feet.”

Leong and his wife started participating in beach cleanups when they were teenagers and eventually shared their passion for the beach with their children. These days Leong spends his free time on the weekends not only organising beach cleanups but also educating children on nature and beach animals through his Beach School.

In total, the cleanup group collected 45 full trash bags with plastic waste being the most litter collected.

The density of plastic in the waste collected concurs with data by the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) in 2017, where nine types of plastic waste were listed in the top ten most commonly found litter on beaches around the world.

In October 2018 the Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC) Yeo Bee Yin rolled out a 12-year roadmap to eliminate single-use plastic in Malaysia by 2030. The beach cleanup by The Beach School lends support towards the Minister’s action plan.

A statement from Cenergi’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ernest Navaratnam, “I am very proud of the Cenergi volunteers who took time off on their weekend to support The Beach School and MSAC to clean up a popular public beach.  Whilst the effort is to allow all Malaysians to enjoy the Port Dickson beach, the important message to all Malaysians is the impact of plastic to the environment and a small effort to minimise use of plastic will make a difference to the plastic waste impacting our beaches and seas.”

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BM

12 Januari 2019, Negeri Sembilan: Cenergi SEA Sdn Bhd (Cenergi), antara peneraju industri tenaga boleh diperbaharui di Malaysia telah bekerjasama dengan Malayan Sub Aqua Club (MSAC) bagi bersama-sama menyokong The Beach School dalam menjayakan program pembersihan pantai Port Dickson pada Sabtu, 12 Januari 2019.

Inisiatif ini telah dianjurkan oleh Kent Leong yang mewakili The Beach School, sebuah organisasi bukan berasaskan keuntungan. Beliau yang bekerja sepenuh masa di Kuala Lumpur, mula terlibat dalam mempromosikan usaha-usaha pemuliharaan pantai sejak dua tahun yang lalu setelah menerima galakan daripada isterinya yang juga berkongsi minat yang sama terhadap kehidupan marin.

“Minat dan pengalaman saya dengan alam semula jadi, terutamanya terhadap pantai bermula seawal umur dua tahun ketika membesar di rumah banglo Maybank di Blue Lagoon, Tanjung Tuan. Sepanjang membesar di sana, saya banyak menghabiskan masa bersendirian dengan alam semula jadi dan belajar berkenaan hidupan marin”

Namun, tahap pencemaran di pantai Port Dickson kini menjadi semakin teruk kerana menurut Leong, “pada suatu masa, kapal-kapal tangki membuang sisa minyak hitam enjin ke dalam laut. Sisa-sisa minyak ini akhirnya mencemarkan kawasan pantai Port Dickson. Ibu-bapa saya pernah terpaksa menggunakan kerosin untuk mencuci kaki saya yang terkena sisa minyak hitam tersebut”.

Leong bersama isterinya telah terlibat dalam usaha pembersihan pantai sejak zaman remaja dan minat ini turut dikongsi bersama anak-anak mereka.

Aktiviti pembersihan pantai yang telah dijalankan ini berjaya mengumpulkan sebanyak 45 beg berisi sampah-sarap terutamanya plastik.

Kadar pencemaran oleh sisa buangan plastik di pantai ini bertepatan dengan dapatan oleh International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) pada tahun 2017, yang mana sembilan daripada sepuluh jenis sampah yang sering dijumpai di pantai merupakan sisa berasaskan plastik.

Pada Oktober 2018, Menteri Tenaga, Sains, Teknologi, Alam Sekitar dan Perubahan Iklim, Yeo Bee Yin telah melancarkan pelan jangka masa 12 tahun bagi menghapuskan penggunaan “single-use plastic” di Malaysia menjelang 2030. Usaha pembersihan pantai yang dijalankan oleh The Beach School ini juga sebagai menyokong usaha menjayakan pelan rancangan tersebut oleh pihak Kementerian.

Menurut Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Kumpulan Cenergi, Ernest Navaratnam, “Saya amat berbangga dengan usaha para sukarelawan daripada Cenergi yang sanggup meluangkan masa rehat mereka di hujung minggu bagi bersama-sama menyokong usaha oleh The Beach School dan MSAC menjalankan program pembersihan pantai ini. Walaupun usaha ini membantu masyarakat untuk menikmati suasana pantai Port Dickson yang lebih bersih, namun mesej utama yang ingin disampaikan ialah kesedaran akan kesan pencemaran bahan buangan plastik terhadap alam sekitar, dan juga kepentingan usaha mengurangkan penggunaan plastik walaupun kecil mampu membawa perubahan kepada pantai dan laut kita”.