More than 250 students from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), representatives from selected NGOs, and members of the public were involved in the planting of 2,022 indigenous trees at UTAR Kampar Campus Agriculture Park near here today, in line with Malaysia’s pledge in making its land area covered with 50% forest and trees.
Presented by the Malaysian Rubber Council (MRC) and UTAR, the ‘1 Student 10 Trees’ campaign is aimed at cultivating values and ethics of conserving the environment besides being part of the government’s 100 Million Trees campaign.
The event was launched by Dato’ Sri Dr. Wee Jeck Seng, Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities and was also attended by Dr. Daroyah binti Alwi, Chairman of MRC, Nor Hizwan Ahmad, CEO of MRC, Ir Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat, President of UTAR and senior management and administrators of MRC and UTAR respectively.
The launch of the campaign is expected to encourage more universities, colleges and higher learning institutions nationwide to take on this bold step of possibly reaching 22 million trees to be planted within the next eight years (2022 – 2030).
In his opening remarks, Nor Hizwan Ahmad, CEO of Malaysia Rubber Council (MRC), said that MRC has always taken a proactive stance towards sustainability as it strives to be a responsible government agency that upholds the highest standards of governance and ethics, promotes sustainable business and practices by limiting the negative impact of its business operations on the environment, as well as building and maintaining strong relationships with our stakeholders.
“We are guided by the Six sustainability pillars, and the fourth pillar, Environmental Development, exemplifies MRC’s commitment to advocate and enhance awareness in preserving the environment.
“As an agency under the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC), we must contribute to the creation of a more sustainable society by making constant efforts to improve the way we operate by focusing on the economic, environmental, social and governance (EESG) principles.
“MRC has a bigger role now. Apart from strengthening the export and domestic market of Malaysian rubber products, we are enhancing the efforts to improve industry’s overall sustainability by advocating awareness, while preserving the environment as well as promoting renewable energy and ensuring social compliance,” he added.
UTAR President Ir Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat thanks all parties of this campaign for such a meaningful collaborative project to promote a greener and more sustainable environment in support of the nation’s 100 million trees campaign and the government’s pledge for more forests in the country.
He added that, “As a university, we are committed to educating our students and staff on conservation and sustainability for future generations in support of the government’s vision and the United Nation’s SDGs. UTAR has also taken steps to create awareness for a greener environment and instill the knowledge and habits towards responsible consumerism and good habits among its staff and students.
UTAR also supports initiatives towards net-zero carbon emissions by promoting the planting of more trees, encouraging cycling on campus and moving towards the use of solar energy as a natural source of energy in its Kampar Campus. We are indeed thankful to everyone for this campaign which will be a reminder to our staff and students to keep our campus green.”
The trees are planted within the UTAR Agricultural Park in its Kampar Campus and will be maintained by the university as an arboretum for the future generation.
The event is also expected to create awareness on pertaining issues such as water conservation, flood management, wildlife, biodiversity and pollution by adopting the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and contribute to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) which address economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection.
