I remember when the first reality
TV series, ‘Survivor’ took place in Pulau Sipadan, Borneo in the year 2000. The
show was aired all over the world. We were proud of our country being displayed
through television box sets in living rooms all around the world. Not long
after that we also heard news on how magnificent and beautiful the island was.
Praises upon praises were being mouthed on its splendor and magnificence.
Having said that, due to lack of awareness and perhaps ignorance,
we took it for granted, at least I did at that time.
However, over the years the
realization and the importance of conservation/preservation of places like the
Sipadan Island became instilled in me, particularly after witnessing other
nearby islands, beaches, and rivers in the country being considered as unsafe
and reputed for being dirty and unhygienic. Who knew vast places like this
could be tainted by a single piece of plastic wrapper or an empty water bottle?
It could when every single person who visits these places drops a plastic
wrapper or an empty water bottle.
It would be safe to assume that
Malaysians in general love nature, natural excursions and expeditions; mainly
because we were raised in a nature rich environment and our activities were
very closely related with nature and involved nature.
Whenever there was a need to
getaway or when the hustle and bustle of the stressful city life has taken its
toll; we were never short of places to visit. We possess legendary waterfalls,
mesmerizing beaches, exciting mountains and activities ranging from hiking,
camping, water rafting, diving, fishing, caving, trekking and many more.
Not wanting to leave out the rich
flora and fauna in our country—we are also a region blessed with a rich and
wonderful flora and fauna that encompasses various unique species of plants,
and animals.
Needless to say, we have and will
always be dependent on nature to survive. People visit places like waterfalls,
mountains, forests, beaches etc to recuperate, recharge, immerse in its beauty
as to gain tranquility, and to calm their minds.
Having said that, in reference to
the second paragraph, today there are a few places that were once well known
for its beautiful beaches, clean rivers and calming waterfalls; are in the
present considered an eyesore and even harmful to human. Hence despite the
irony, we now have people discouraging others from visiting these places;
instead of reacting more positively or responsibly. Surely we have forgotten
that we were the reason of this misfortune.
We, over the years have been
visitors to these places and little by little polluted them and corrupted them
by introducing trash and dirtying these
beautiful places; in spite of being responsible in its rehabilitation we
ignored them and have moved on to other ‘cleaner’ recreational spots. These
places, today abandoned by most, reek of an unpleasant air, the beaches no
longer clean, the corals diminishing and the water at the waterfalls are no
longer safe to drink and in addition to that there are places infested with
diseases such as malaria.
Sorry but I couldn’t help myself
from drifting to another topic, today if we drive from one state to another we
can observe how mountains are slowly being torn down, we could also monitor and
compare how forests along the highways are being replaced by palm
plantations. Ever since I was little
and on every road trip, I would witness forests being cut off and mountains
torn down; even till today it’s still ongoing! It then occurred to me that
every single day there are trees cut down; mountains torn up while other places
recreational spots are being trashed and polluted. If one were to observe one’s
surrounding, he/she would’ve noticed it too, if he/she hasn’t already on the
amount of corruption that is presently going on.
How can we, after being so dependent and after gaining so
much from nature continue to pollute and corrupt it? And to what extent?
Furthermore it is understandable;
nobody likes unclean or polluted places. Though we are still oblivious that we
are the cause of this gradual calamity. We like going to untainted and
beautiful places, we pleasure ourselves but in spite of being grateful we
continue to corrupt and pollute these places too!
It would be helpful if people
were to realize that if this continues all of these gems in our country would
eventually be reduced to places unfit for visitors.
Educating oneself on the disaster
of littering, knowing the consequences of littering and its effect towards
Mother Nature should be a good enough reason for people to refrain from
littering, yet sadly that too has failed to prevent people from littering.
One must realize on how much a
person is dependent and how much humanity as a whole relies on nature. Whatever
our methods maybe one would probably start caring and paying more attention
when one has the passion and love for it. We hope people; especially Malaysian
citizens will start to love their waterfalls, rivers, beaches, mountains and
all these blessings we have been granted and heavily rely on.
Loads of gratitude and
appreciations to Government bodies, ngo’s like Waterfall Survivors for trying
to educate and instill the importance of Mother Nature to the public.
We are all part of nature, it
should be our part to love, care and preserve our environment. Everyone should
be a part of it.
p.s. The Pictures below triggered
me to come up with this particular piece. It was taken at a fishermen’s village
somewhere around Klang. It is also said that trashes from all around comes to
this place and makes its way towards the sea. The lines of trash on both sides
of the river were more than a couple of kilometers long.
To be fair I will also include
some pictures at the same place without the trash, which I was lucky enough to
witness.
