KOTA KINABALU: Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) Kota Kinabalu Church at Jalan Saga, Likas has been recognized as a litter-free religious house by Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir yesterday.
Madingkir in his speech stressed that the involvement of churches in the anti-litterbug campaign was vital in their efforts to make the state capital a litter-free city.
He pointed out that this was another best strategy to expand the vision of City Hall’s 5K objectives, namely Kebersihan, Keindahan, Keselamatan, Keteraturan and Kesejehteraan. (Cleanliness, Beauty, Safety, Orderliness and Harmony).
“I want to congratulate the recognition of this church as the third litter-free house of worship in the city as well as in Malaysia,” he said, adding that the other two churches which had already been declared as litter-free religious houses are Kota Kinabalu Seventh-day Adventist Church in Likas and Inanam Basel Church.
He said without the hard work of church members, this would not be achieved.
“With the addition of this church as a litter-free premises today, the total number of premises which are recognized by City Hall as litter-free premises has reached 71,” he said yesterday.
“With this recognition, church members need to do three things, namely not to throw rubbish inside the church and everywhere; they need to talk about this campaign to family members, friends, relatives and other people and thirdly, for those who visit the church, they should be aware of the status of the church as a litter-free place and this should influence them not to throw rubbish inside the church or any place.”
He also lauded the support of the church in City Hall’s on-going campaign to reduce the usage of plastic bags.
Madingkir disclosed that the participation of the church had brought a total of 265 participants in the campaign, including from 129 supermarket outlets, since its launch on June 7, 2010.
He hoped that the recognition of the church as a litter-free premises would enhance the awareness of the community on their responsibilities to take care of the cleanliness of the city and its surroundings.
Meanwhile, SIB Kota Kinabalu Church head Elder William Pan in his speech said he was very happy as members of the church had accepted the challenge to make the church a litter-free place.
He also urged church members to take part in any campaign organized by City Hall for the benefit of all parties.
Also present at the event were City Hall director-general Datuk Yeo Boon Hai, Health and Services Department director Robert Lipon, Elder Datuk Yapin Gimpoton, and SIB Kota Kinabalu Church deputy head Elder Julian Sugara.