Sultan Nazrin: Obsession for infrastructure development not a licence to destroy environment

IPOH, March 28 (Bernama) -- The obsession for infrastructure development and business profits cannot be used to justify people’s greed to destroy the environment, said the Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah.

He said the technological advancement alone cannot rein in disasters resulting from environmental devastation in the hands of man.

“Lately, natural disasters that have been occurring with increasing frequency should be regarded as a divine censure of our misbehaviour, turning nature against us.

“National growth and development must be tempered with respect and love for the environment to cultivate awareness, so that man and nature can co-exist to attain a balance between growth and regeneration.

His Royal Highness said this when opening the First Meeting of the Fifth Session of the 14th Perak State Legislative Assembly at Dewan Negeri, Bangunan Perak Darul Ridzuan here, today.

His Royal Highness also said that the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, inflation and lately, conflicts, have threatened the global food supply, where rising food prices will affect lives and create distress.

He said the government has been undertaking several integrated action plans to secure food supply through efforts to modernise the food subsector in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0), identifying access to new markets and attracting the young to participate in agriculture, fishery and livestock farming.

Touching on food wastage, especially during Ramadan, Sultan Nazrin advised that government departments set an example, starting by ordering food quantities in functions and events held, and during meetings.

“Food wastage is a daily occurrence. Global data has shown that the value of food wastage has reached 2.4% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product.

“In our country, it is reported daily that 17,000 tonnes of food waste that can fill the stomachs of three million people are disposed of. About 4,080 tonnes of that amount is food waste. The number increased 10 per cent during Ramadan. These numbers reflect the gravity of food wastage happening today,” he said.

Therefore, Sultan Nazrin said that every household, school, institution of higher learning, place of worship, food operator, restaurant and hotel should refrain from the excessive provision of food that can only end up in the bin.

He also reminded the people to minimise the use of plastic and should help the campaign to refrain or reduce the use of plastic bags and avoid discarding plastic waste into surrounding water bodies or being left to decompose on the ground.

“Malaysians are sorely lacking in awareness, indifferent to the pollution hazards of plastic that can poison food and the environment.

Meanwhile, His Royal Highness also commended efforts of 40 mosques and several tahfiz centres in Perak in using the vacant land around their mosques and institutions to produce food.

“The Perak Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council and several state government-linked companies are fulfilling their corporate social responsibility by funding youth farming projects, assisting in the establishment of agricultural clubs to pique the interest in agriculture in the young.

“This praiseworthy effort should be expanded to include more places of worship, schools, youth movements, the private sector and should also be introduced to government quarters, including army camps and police barracks,” he said.

The First Meeting of the Fifth Term of the 14th Perak State Legislative Assembly will convene for three days starting today.

-- BERNAMA