R-Show CSR project addresses flash flood issue in Kampar

The “R-Show in Kampar”, an ongoing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project organised by a group of 36 Bachelor of Communication (Honours) Public Relations (PR) students, was officially launched on 16 August 2022 at UTAR Kampar Campus. The project was organised in collaboration with Majlis Daerah Kampar (MDKpr).

Present at the launching ceremony were MDKpr Councillor Ng Wah Leng representing Yang Dipertua Abdul Halim bin Saad, External Examiner of PR Department Assoc Prof Peter Denter-Simmons (virtual attendance), Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FAS) Dean Dr Lee Lai Meng, Group 9 Director Boo Qin-Hui, press, staff and students.

Boo thanked MDKpr for their collaborative opportunity and said, “This CSR project will focus on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, and SDG 13: Climate Action. We aim to educate the Kampar community about proper waste management and encourage them to practise the 5Rs – Refuse (Menolak), Reduce (Mengurangkan), Reuse (Guna Semula), Repurpose (Guna Semula untuk tujuan lain) and Recycle (Kitar Semula) in their daily routines.”

She added, “Serving the Community, Restoring Faith in Humanity is the tagline of our project. We believe that by meeting the needs of our community, we can make society a better place. Therefore, in regards to the flash flood crisis in Kampar, we decided to execute this CSR project as a means to help solve the problem. One of the causes of the flash floods in Kampar is due the accumulation of trash in the drains, which barricades the flow of water and eventually causes an overflow of water during heavy rain. This is also the result of poor waste management practices and waste segregation. Therefore, it is ever more crucial for the Kampar community and all to learn proper waste management techniques. We need to be aware that a single act of recycling will help to reduce the disposal of waste materials that may otherwise be sent to landfill sites or cause flash floods.”

Dr Lee applauded the efforts of the PR students and said “UTAR has always been very active in CSR activities because the university believes in giving back to the community. Likewise, FAS has also continuously conducted CSR activities in the past and has worked closely with MDKpr. CSR is a concept that is taught in the core subject of PR because we aim to impart the skills and knowledge of conducting CSR projects. It is more than just to fulfil the requirement of their coursework, but to also instil in them the passion to serve and give back to the community.”

Ng congratulated the students and commented, “The CSR project organised by the students is also in line with our Projek Kompos KitaQ, which is a recycling practice executed under the Pelan Tindakan Pengurangan Sisa Pepejal 2005. This is an initiative by MDKpr to increase the community’s awareness of the importance of environmental sustainability, and I believe with this CSR project by the PR students, the effort to achieve our objective can be more successful.”

Prof Peter said “As the External Examiner of the PR programme, I am glad to see the relevance of the programme in offering an opportunity to students to be socially responsible by serving the community. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reported that an estimated 11.2 billion tonnes of solid waste are collected worldwide on a yearly basis and the organic proportion of solid waste decomposition is contributing about 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, poor waste management that includes ineffective disposal and non-existing collection systems are resulting in air pollution, and water and soil contamination. While waste cannot be avoided completely, we should reduce them, thus 5R is all that we need to put into practice.”

He added, “We understand that people are both the main cause of the environmental problems and the main hope for a solution. Thus, I am heartened by the fact that UTAR students are addressing environmental issues and creating awareness of the importance of 5R through such a meaningful CSR project. I also believe the collaboration between the university and Kampar District Council will be rewarding in bringing about improvement in making Kampar a better place for the people.”

The highlights of the launching ceremony were the fashion show and launching gambit. The fashion show featured members of the group dressed in recycled attire, made from various recyclable materials, such as plastic, aluminium can, and newspapers. Meanwhile, the gambit saw Ng, Dr Lee and Boo removing the trash from the cardboard-made Earth, and placing them in their respective disposal bins.

Prior to the launching ceremony, the group had conducted various activities, such as selling snacks in the fundraising booth, organising roadshows within the campus as well as setting up booth selling tickets at Shake n Bake 2nd Anniversary event to promote the project and its main event, R-Show in Kampar: 5R Fashion Design Competition, which will be held on 3 September 2022 (Saturday). Social media platforms were also used to promote their project, including the social media campaign titled “Don’t Waste Your Waste” on Instagram, which enabled UTAR students to donate their reusable wastes and post their acts on Instagram with the hashtag #DontWasteYourWaste to gain social media exposure. The project was supervised by FAS PR lecturer and project advisor Diong Fong Wei.