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On January 15, the Selangor State Government through their Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment Executive Councillor Elizabeth Wong announced Saturday as their ‘No Plastic Bag Day’. This is being seen as a move to promote environmental awareness in the state.
“Saturday will be a very effective day to get the message across to a wider crowd. For the first three months, we hope to achieve a substantial educational effect on consumers in changing their habits. Six months later, we will consider making it a licensing condition for retailers, in strengthening the campaign,” she said.
This is among the many efforts by the Selangor State Government to improve environmental conditions in Selangor. Some serious environmental threats like the fireflies’ habitat destruction and the water pollution in Kuala Selangor are getting the attention from the State Government. Among the proposed moves are reserving the fireflies' habitat which consists of the berembang trees, nipahs and sago palms.
Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim in February last year announces that the state government has allocated RM10bil to clean and rehabilitate Sungai Klang. According to him, Sungai Klang would be developed as an alternative public transportation system, the project cost allocated under the state's economic stimulus package involves the removal of toxic waste and sediments from the river bed stretching some 120km.
In its exco meeting on July 22 last year, the Selangor State Government had decided to stop all logging for the inland forest with immediate effect, while the ruling on the mangrove forest would be enforced on Jan 1. This again shows the seriousness of the State Government to improve the environmental condition of Malaysia’s richest state.
The most significant development would be the launch of the first consultation workshop of the Selangor State Environmental Policy (Dasar Alam Sekitar Selangor) last October 9, 2009. There were 21 environmental non-governmental organizations, seven related governmental departments and two youth observer groups who attended this workshop. The workshop was held to present and explain a draft of the Selangor State Environmental Policy to all the participants, and to solicit their professional input into this novel policy.
The Selangor State Government stresses the need to achieve four objectives with the launch of the policy consultation process. First, Selangor government has to establish an environmental policy tailored to the conditions and needs of the state. Second, the workshop must contribute towards the institutionalization of participatory democracy in policymaking. They believe that every Selangor citizen has a right to participate in shaping the state’s future.
Third, the finalized policy will be a public document and stand as a means for citizens to hold state government accountable. Fourth, the Selangor state government wants to signal to the public, other state governments and the Federal government that Selangor is taking leadership on environmental matters.
A move like the Selangor State Environmental Policy is something that we need and expect from any State Government. Pakatan Rakyat has shown that they are now more than just the opposition. They are a ruling political party (in four states) really fighting for the interest of the Rakyat and more importantly the interest of our beloved country. Related News
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