Kuala Lumpur, 12 November 2020 – Entering its second year, the Presentation Ceremony of River of Life Public Outreach Programme Phase 5 (ROLPOP5) Award 2020 was organised virtually today to celebrate the local champions of Klang River and recognising their efforts and outstanding commitment in enhancing, protecting and contributing positive impact towards the River of Life (ROL) project initiative. Eight categories contended for the award and winners from six category received monetary, trophies and certificates while2 categories champion and all categories’ shortlisted nominees/finalists received trophies and certificates.
Dato’ Ir. Hj. Nor Hisham Bin Mohd. Ghazali, Director General of Department of Drainage and Irrigation (DID) Malaysia said, “The government is well aware that transforming Klang River into a healthy riverine with high economic values requires multi-stakeholder partnerships. Hence, ROLPOP under the River Cleaning Component of ROL was established by DID Malaysia to educate and provide platform for the target groups to care for our river and the environment.”
“The local champions are from different target groups in ROLPOP5 area under the categories of local communities; general public (individual and NGO); educational institutions; food establishment owners, wet market operators and automobile workshops; and industries, corporations and developers. A special category for the mass media was also awarded to recognize journalists for their reporting on River of Life initiative that covers issues and positive impacts. The ROLPOP5 Award 2020 introduced a new category, the Open Category contended by those who have contributed positively in the river conservation and rehabilitation in the Klang River Basin outside the ROLPOP5 area. In total, the Award received 71 submissions and 68 are eligible for nominations and evaluation by panel of judges from KWP, DID Malaysia and UKM LESTARI.” said Dato’ Ir. Hj. Nor Hisham
Organised live on Zoom and Facebook platforms due to COVID-19 movement control, the Ceremony saw video screening of each category’s achievements and success stories throughout the engagement with ROLPOP5 activities and initiatives. The champions were specially celebrated through video presentations that highlighted their activities and initiatives contributing significantly to the conservation of Klang River.
The winners of each category are:
- Local Communities – KRT PangsapuriMutiara Magna
- Educational Institutions – SK St Mary
- Industries, Corporations and Developers – Alam Flora Sdn. Bhd.
- Food Establishments, Wet Markets and Automobile Workshops – Restoran Ali Maju
- General Public (NGO/NPO) –Lions Club of Kuala Lumpur City
- General Public (Individual) – MathaviNadarajahThevar from Yayasan Chow Kit
- Media – KhairulRizuanAzizan (Media Prima)
- Open Category – Friends of SungaiKlang Taman Melawati River Three (FoSK TMR3)
Tuan Haji Md Khairi Bin Selamat, Director of Division of River Basin Management, Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia said, “Among the activities or initiatives they have conducted are river stretch adoption programme, establishing community garden, conducting zero-waste awareness programme and more. Since its commencement in 2016, these river care initiatives under the ROLPOP5 has outreached to a large number of participation. To date, ROLPOP5 has outreached to
17,033 general publics; 5,259 food establishments, stalls, wet market and automobile workshop operators; 1,848 industries, corporations and developers; 116 educational institutions involving 13,000 people; and 5,880 local communities. This is a great feat and hopefully the award will encourage more of such efforts to preserve the country’s important asset: our river.”
Faizal Parish, Director of Global Environment Centre (GEC) said, “The Award was first organised last year that saw 8 winners from 8 categories awarded. These winners are no longer eligible for this year’s Award. We came back for the second year to continue celebrating the consistent and continuous efforts shown by the other local champions in their river care initiatives. Through this Award, we hope to showcase the success stories of these champions and the various ways people can adopt to care for our rivers.”
The virtual ceremony saw participants attending via Zoom and Facebook platforms. The Ceremony also celebrates 174 strategic partners who have supported the implementation of ROL project since 2016. All strategic partners received certificate of partnership or appreciation from the government to acknowledge or recognise their involvement in the project.
