Kasihanilah
Haiwan
Kasihanilah Haiwan ini.
Mereka juga berhak untuk hidup di atas muka bumi Allah dengan aman. Janganlah
bersikap zalim kepada mereka. Kita manusia diutus Allah sebagai khalifah di
muka bumi bertanggungjawab mentadbir bumi untuk haiwan dan tumbuhan hidup aman
di atasnya... Bukan manusia diutus di atas muka bumi untuk melakukan kerosakan kebinasaan
dan bukan pula manusia diutus di atas muka bumi untuk melakukan porak peranda
kekejaman.
Picture source: The Star
Plastic bags become a political issue after a
General Elections promise
WWF-Malaysia has cautioned against the proposal by Selangor Barisan
Nasional to stop the 20-sen fee to discourage plastic bag pollution.
Selangor’s Barisan Nasional (BN) information chief Satim Diman said on Feb
18 that their manifesto included a promise to stop making shoppers pay 20 sen
for plastic bags if BN wins Selangor in the coming General Elections (GE14).
Selangor BN chairman Tan Sri Noh Omar added that “it was a burden” for
consumers in the state to pay 20 sen for each single-use plastic bag
WWF Malaysia’s chief executive Datuk Dr Dionysius SK Sharma said that while
political parties have the right to make such promises, he hoped that the
administrative system will do the right thing.
“We can see the world over how single use plastics have had terrible
effects on nature and biodiversity,” he said.
“It is not about political parties. They can say anything, it is their
prerogative. It is about governments, local, state and federal governments that
matter. Any responsible government should solve this problem,” he added.
Picture source: The Star
To safeguard the environment from the deluge of plastic waste, the Selangor
state government had imposed a 20 sen fee for those who want a plastic bag with
their purchases, starting Jan 1, 2017.
The state also barred vendors from using polystyrene foam boxes to pack
food.
How Harmful Is Plastic?
Plastic garbage goes far beyond damaging the scenic beauty of our towns,
villages, rivers, waterfalls and beaches.
Animals, birds and fish who swallow plastic bags often suffer from blocked
intestines, which lead to long, slow and painful deaths.
At particular risk are marine turtles, which often mistake plastic bags as
their natural food of jellyfish. Many turtles have ended up literally starving
to death as their stomachs are choked up with plastic bags.
Researchers from the University of Queensland recently determined that
approximately 52% of the world’s sea turtles have eaten plastic, as reported in
greenerideal.com.
Birds can mistake the bags for fish or nesting materials. If their legs or
heads become entangled, it can prove fatal.
And of course, we Malaysians know that plastic bags often clog up our drains and rivers, which then worsen flash floods (and traffic jams) during heavy rains.
And of course, we Malaysians know that plastic bags often clog up our drains and rivers, which then worsen flash floods (and traffic jams) during heavy rains.
Plastic bags take hundreds of years to break down or decompose. That’s why
when they block drains, they must be cleaned up – and that costs taxpayer
ringgit too.
Plastic bags consume finite resources, including oil, in their creation.
According to some estimates, up to 100 million barrels of oil are needed to
make the world’s plastic bags each year, as the Daily Telegraph newspaper
notes. Yet, the typical usage of a plastic bag is just 20 minutes.
It’s Beyond Politics
However, Satim now proposes that the Selangor state government should build
its own plastic factory, and give out free plastic bags.
Dionysius said that Malaysia had signed up for the United Nation’s
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and we should thus play our part.
He pointed out that the BN-led federal government, through the Economic
Planning Unit (EPU) is preparing a roadmap on the SDGs and local environmental
NGOs, including WWF-Malaysia, have already been invited to contribute and give
inputs.
“We are on the right track already and must keep pushing forward on
responsible environmental management decisions,” he added.
The issue actually transcends the political divide as both BN and
opposition state governments are trying to deal with the impact of too many
plastic bags.
Currently, the opposition-controlled states of Selangor and Penang, as well
as the BN-led states of Malacca, Johor, and the Federal Territories of Kuala
Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, have rules to discourage overuse of plastic bags.
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