00:02More than 100 volunteers collected over 800 kilograms of rubbish from Pulau Gazumbo in just two hours during a large
00:09-scale clean-up effort.
00:10The group combed the three-hectare uninhabited islet off Penang Island's eastern coast near the Penang Bridge,
00:16picking up thousands of plastic bottles, food wrappers, slippers, spent fireworks tubes, fishing nets, ropes, polystyrene pieces and other debris
00:25washed ashore from the sea.
00:26The waste, largely marine litter, had drifted onto the island, which sits amid shallow waters and seagrass beds that support
00:34diverse marine life.
00:35During the Plog Clean on Gazumbo program last Sunday, Penang Island City Council, MBPP, Urban Services Department Director Rashida Jalaluddin
00:44said the annual effort was both necessary and sobering,
00:47adding that it was disheartening that marine dumping continues despite ongoing awareness efforts.
00:51She warned that even small amounts of waste reaching Pulau Gazumbo can threaten breeding habitats for marine species.
00:59Environmental experts have long cautioned that plastic pollution poses a major risk to fragile ecosystems,
01:05with lightweight debris travelling long distances before accumulating on remote shores,
01:10where it can entangle marine life or break down into microplastics that enter the food chain.
01:14To address the issue, Rashida said MBPP is expanding its efforts beyond periodic cleanups
01:21and is working with Japanese partners to launch the Blue Santa Malaysia program,
01:25aimed at strengthening public awareness on marine conservation and sustainable waste management.
01:31MBPP Mayor Datuk Arrajendran, who officiated the program, said protecting marine ecosystems is a shared responsibility
01:38and praised the participation of youths, calling them ambassadors of change.
01:42He said youth involvement was key to building awareness, adding that first-hand exposure to pollution
01:48would encourage them to spread the message among their peers.
01:51Also present were Japanese Consul General Tupinang, Machida Shinya, Pink Hibiscus Club President,
01:57Emi Yamazaki, MBPP Councillor Rohaizat Hamid and MBPP Health Department's Dr. Chin-Wi Lun.
02:04Thank you very much.
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