Corporate Communication students from UTAR Faculty of Creative Industries (FCI) organised a beach cleaning project called “Beauty and Our Beach” on 16 November 2019. The main objective of the project was to raise awareness on the impact of plastic debris on marine life.

Held in partnership with the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) and sponsored by IOI Group, the students, lecturers and representatives from MNS and IOI Group gathered at Pantai Bagan Lalang, Sepang to carry out the project. A warm-up session consisting of Zumba Dance was held before they got down to work. They picked up rubbish weighing up to 60kg from the shore, of which 369 items were made of plastic. Among the waste collected were plastic bottles, plastic bags and packaging, food wrappers and cigarette butts. The garbage collected was then analysed using the Clean Coast Index.

From left: Cynthia Lau, MNS representative, Dr David Tneh, Deputy under Secretary of the Environmental Management and Climate Change Division Eddy Mazuaansyah bin Mohd Ali Murad, IOI Properties Senior General Manager of Corporate Communications Kristine Ng and Chairman of Beauty and Our Beach Project Yap Chun Yin during the launch

Yap Chun Yin, the project leader explained why they picked a beach clean-up as their final year project. “Pollution is a major global problem with plastic debris on beaches and seas getting into the food chain. We, therefore, wanted to bring attention to the problem and as a start, we decided to clean up the Bagan Lalang Beach which was near to where we were studying,” he said.

Speaking at the project’s launching ceremony, FCI Dean Dr David Tneh Cheng Eng said, “I am encouraged to see that so many of our students, lecturers, staff and distinguished guests are willing to make a difference towards a global effort to improve the state of our beaches. Such a turnout at an event like this shows the level of appreciation that our participants and guests have for the environment and this further creates awareness on the impact of plastic waste on marine life.”

Head of Mass Communication Department Cynthia Lau Pui-Shan said, “I am impressed by the Corporate Communication students’ decision to choose a beach cleanup as their project. It shows that young people are concerned over the environment and the need to take care of nature, especially marine life.

The project also included educational talks by MNS and a hands-on session on making eco-bricks from the plastic debris at Sungai Long Campus.