KOTA KINABALU: Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir has called on Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) to participate in its anti-litter campaign and effort to reduce the usage of plastic bag.
He said City Hall is continuing its effort to instill good cleanliness habits and promote awareness on the harmful effect of using non-biodegradable plastics among the public.
A higher learning institution, he added, is a good place for engaging and educating especially the younger generation on these noble efforts.
However, he said only Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) had adopted the City Hall’s cleanliness and plastic bag campaign so far.
“We hope UMS and other institutions will get on board and support our campaign,” he said when speaking at the UMS Graduate Parade at the City Hall yesterday.
Abidin said UMS had since its inception about 14 years ago contributed a lot to the city, in terms of creating quality human capital as well as improving its image city through its various international acheivements.
Meanwhile, UMS vice chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Mohd Harun Abdullah said the university would continue to strengthen its ties and collaborate with City Hall towards creating a progressive community in Kota Kinabalu.
“UMS and DBKK need to forge and move forward with ties and understanding to enable better initiatives to be taken to provide the neccessary facilities and other enablers in the future,” he said.
Harun said the Graduate Parade ceremony introduced since 2007 signified the strong collaborative spirit between the two sides.
The ceremony, he added, carries a profound message and signals UMS’ commitment to work with the surrounding communities for a better future.
More than 200 academicians and officers from UMS led by alumni director of student affairs Associate Professor Dr Mahmud Sudin joined 67 of the university’s graduates in the parade held anually in honour of the city.
During the event, the mayor would present the Key to the City to students’ representative, signifying the gesture of welcoming every UMS graduate as valuable members of the Kota Kinabalu community.
The university will be holding its 14th convocation on October 22-24 where more than 4,000 students will receive their scrolls.