inferiority complex thy suffer…

I dont want to make a big deal about this. I dont even buy the papers but still, for  limelight sake….

Sunday. The Star . June 3. 2007.

  Caring for other trekkers

While some students are cleaning up the environment on the ground,
Sunway University College (SyUc) Canadian International Matriculation
Programme students are doing it in higher altitudes amidst spectacular
views and fresh air.

But the situation is not as breathtaking beautiful as it may seem.

Instead, students are left to deal with campsites defaced with garbage and graffiti left behind by selfish visitors. 

Led by English lecturer Tan Meng Chwen, the Trekking Club has between
10 and 20 students who have trekked up several hills and mountains
around the peninsula, cleaning up along the way.

Their latest gotong-royong, on
Monday, was a five-hour night trek up Gunung Irau in picturesque
Cameron Highlands, where they were met with the depressing sight of all
kinds of trash – shoes, socks, tin cans, mineral water bottles and
glass ones, to name a few.

“Gunung Irau is so enchanting, like
a scene right out of a fairytale with the mossy trees and lush
landscape, but the plain laziness of visitors has tarnished its beauty
and is giving a bad image to our country,” says student Farah Hanani
Shamsuddin, 19.

Her coursemate Muhammed Ikwan, from Indonesia, concurs.

“There’s so much trash that sometimes it doesn’t make any difference even after we’ve cleaned up as much as we can.

“It’s unbelievable how inconsiderate some campers can be. This exercise
is definitely a wake-up call to trekkers to take their garbage back
with them and not leave anything behind,” says the 17-year old.

The group came down with seven large garbage bags of trash, with one
weighing as much as 7kg – which called for a lot for work when they
were trekking downhill. 

On their earlier excursion several weeks ago, the team brought down 26 bags of trash from Gunung Datuk in Negri Sembilan.

They had also taken up five litres of thinner and patiently removed graffiti from rocks at the peak.

“Although performing 10 hours of community service is compulsory for
the students to graduate, many have joined the treks of their own
will,” says Tan.

“Some have complained that it has been physical torture and mental
anguish, but it has also given them a new sense of appreciation of
nature.

“It is also a way for them to give back to society.” 

Sunday June 3, 2007

Save the world!

There are lots that can be done to help protect the environment. Take a
look at some of the initiatives taken by schools and students in a bid
to do their bit. Perhaps they may spur you to think of ways through
which you too can make the world cleaner and greener.

Hey, me in orange!

(3) Sunway University College English lecturer Tan Meng Chwen (in red T-shirt), his
colleague in the Canadian International Matriculation Programme Nancy Litman
(fifth from left) and a group of students with the 26 bags of trash they had collected
during a recent trek up Gunung Datuk in Negri Sembilan. – SUNWAY UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE

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