New Year's message by Datuk Seri Ang Lai Soon
The year 2017 seems to be rather disappointing to many
due to poor global economy , and political tension and violence caused by
conflict of ideological beliefs and religious intolerance in some parts of the
world.
 |
| Datuk Seri Ang Lai Soon |
By and large, this country is fortunate being spared all
the worst things that have happened elsewhere
. We still can enjoy freedom of worship , live with other ethnic groups
peacefully , express what we feel , and free from earthquakes and typhoons .
However, we also seem to usher in the new year with some
disturbing news on the weather front.
Heavy year-end rainfall almost always leads to flooding
as we are unfortunately witnessing in Sarawak and West Malaysia
in recent weeks.
We can imagine the difficulties the affected people are
experiencing, especially as school-going children prepare to return to schools.
As unfortunate as our weather patterns have been, things
are of course much worse for those living in parts of the globe often visited
by even more destructive weather phenomena such as typhoons and cyclones.
Of late, such weather phenomena seem to be getting much
more frequent , more powerful and therefore more destructive in nature. Perhaps
even more unfortunate is the fact that some politicians and leaders in some
very powerful countries are denying that unchecked human activities can
contribute to changing weather patterns.
There can be no denying that removing our natural forest
cover will tend to quicken the pace of rainwater run-off, swelling our rivers
and causing more rapid and ferocious flooding.
There is also a growing body of scientific evidence to
show that there is actually global warming caused by industrial pollution , and
vehicles that results in greater and greater accumulation of greenhouse gases
in the atmosphere.
The end result is, of course, more frequent, and maybe
more powerful typhoons and other destructive weather-related phenomena.
If such destructive weather patterns are man-made to a
certain extent, we as responsible human beings must take special care to
protect and preserve our living environment for our own sake.
Too often, we hear that as poorer developing nations, our
people have more important things to worry about (such as making a living) than
to care for the environment. This is, I think,
not only short-sighted but quite wrong.
When strong winds and heavy rains wreak havoc, the people
who are most affected are those living along river banks and the most low-lying
areas and these are usually the poorer people who can least afford the
misfortune brought about by
weather-related disasters. So the most vulnerable peoples
are usually those who suffer the greatest in the event of such calamities
caused by ongoing environmental degradation.
It is,therefore ,the responsibility of all of us to help,
in our own little ways and within our own surrounding areas, to protect and
conserve the exceedingly fragile
environment.
Those more able can of course do more by helping to
educate others on how preserving the environment is very much about their own
self-preservation.
We must all be more conscious about leading a more
sustainable way of life and choose only products that are most friendly to the
environment. It can be as simple as insisting on paper or reusable bags rather
than plastic bags .
And wherever possible, to walk or use a bicycle or take
public transport. We will then be contributing our bit to collectively cut down
on our carbon footprint.
Indiscriminate jungle burning by plantations and by
individuals in both the rural and urban areas as well must be stopped so that
people in many countries in the ASEAN region particularly do not have to
breathe the most polluted air known to man , and damaging human and animal
health.
A greener environment is the only way to reduce earth’s
volume of greenhouse gases. Of course ,it will not stop serious flooding or
strong typhoons or haze or smog.
However, it may stop them from getting worse and worse
and bringing even more human misery.
Government and Non-Governmental Organisations like St.
John Ambulance , Red Cross ( Red
Crescent) ,Boy Scouts , Girl Guides , Rotary,Lions and Jaycees can play a
useful role in helping to create greater awareness of Climate Change .
Many years ago I initiated the
"PLANT-A-Tree-A-Year" Campaign . It was a success as it was very well
supported by all . Following St. John Ambulance Sarawak's
"PLANT-A-Tree-A-Year" Campaign , others including some NGOs also
organised similar campaigns.
If each person can
just plant a tree a year, together we can help to
make all the urban areas especially greener , healthier
and thus making life more bearable for everyone .Instead of seeing trees being
mercilessly cut down and hills flattened in the name of progress and development
, we must preserve trees where possible , and the hills as well. Attempts to
create concrete jungles must not be
encouraged at all.
On St John Ambulance Sarawak, it has been privileged to
attract members from a very broad cross-section of Sarawak’s people over the
years.
They come with very varied personal interests and
motivations in becoming members, and I am glad that we provide a good and
healthy platform for them all to share and learn new experiences in life.
There is nothing like a uniformed organisation to impart
a greater sense of commitment and discipline as we all journey through life and
its many challenges.
I hope and pray that we all resolve in the new year to be
more caring and protective of, and showing more respect for our environment
because we all share this one and only planet earth!
Note: Datuk Seri Ang Lai Soon is the chairman and commander of St John Ambulance Sarawak.
No comments:
Post a Comment