“Keep Malaysia Clean”
“Think before you throw”
There is a never-ending barrage of the above channeled to us through our government sponsored television adverts and campaign posters about ‘keeping Malaysia spick and span’, yet it seems that the efficacy of the abovementioned remains somewhat of a mixed bag.
What I find more disturbing is the sight of school-going children dumping their garbage around their school yard and around the bus-stops.
I sometimes wonder what they ever learn in school, or more mind-boggling, what kind of values their parents have been instilling in their kids.
Unfortunately, it’s not just the little ones guilty of this, but even educated adults as well. I was once told of a lawyer who even declared that is his ‘right to dump his rubbish wherever he pleases’ as we pay taxes to have the council clean up our streets. I don’t see this as doing justice to our road sweepers.
While Kuching can certainly claim the spot for being one of the cleanest cities in the country, this habit is becoming entrenched. All too often, I see drivers who wind down their car window and dump their rubbish onto the streets, with a carload of kids. So much for homegrown values.