Eight Bachelor of Communication (Honours) Public Relations students from UTAR Kampar Campus participated in Program Komuniti Bersih & Sihat (KOMBEST) as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility subject (UAMP3084). The programme was held by Majlis Daerah Kampar (MDKpr) in collaboration with Pejabat Kesihatan Daerah Kampar on 18 June 2022 at Taman Sejahtera, Mambang DiAwan, Kampar, Perak.  The programme attracted about 100 participants in attendance.

The objective of the programme was to raise awareness and promote a clean and hygienic Kampar for the community. It also aimed to ensure the health of the people living in Kampar. The students were supervised by Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FAS) academic Diong Fong Wei.

The programme started with an aerobic dance session and it was followed by various engaging activities such as waste recycling project, colouring contest, dengue spot competition, reusable waste exchange, health exhibition and medical health check-up. In addition, a demonstration of food waste decomposition was also held to educate the community regarding the importance of environmental cleanliness for their health.

In his speech, MDKpr Councillor Rafidi bin Mohd Razli highlighted his objectives and thoughts for executing this programme surrounding the theme of environmental cleanliness. He said, “This programme will help educate the community about the importance of preventing to littering and the benefits of recycling items instead of throwing them away. We are still in the phase of educating the Kampar community about the benefits of recycling reusable waste and teaching them the consequences of littering. Activities which are catered to recycling as well as defending the cleanliness of the environment cannot be achieved by one person alone as it requires the effort of many. When people start to see the importance of recycling and maintaining the cleanliness of the environment, others will follow along. This would enable us to achieve a city that is clean and litter-free.”

The programme continued with MDKpr Pegawai Tadbir N41 Jabatan Kesihatan Awam Mohd Izham bin Ahmad, sharing his thoughts on conducting this programme for the Kampar community. “This programme can benefit the community in various ways. One of them includes cleaning the rubbish in the neighbourhood that contains stagnant water to prevent the breeding of Dengue mosquitoes. This is to ensure the health of the people from the community is well-taken care of. I also hope those who have participated today will be able to learn more about the benefits of this programme. I also hope they will start spreading the awareness to their household and community of the importance of recycling,” he added.

The Event Co-organiser Diong Fong Wei said she was glad that UTAR was invited to participate in such a meaningful event to serve the community. Most importantly, it offered an opportunity for UTAR students to learn about community service. “For the last two years, we were unable to organise any physical events, focusing on community service, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So special thanks to our project partners for enabling us this opportunity to serve the community. I believe this project will not only benefit the community, but also the students. It is important to let our students understand that service to the community is something they should do because they are required,” said Diong.

Student representative Ong Jian Rong said, “I think this programme was a huge success because it involved many parties. In other words, it shows that many people are supportive of activities that are aimed at improving the environment and well-being of people. So, I consider myself lucky because I was given the chance to participate in this community service activity. This activity allowed me to apply all the knowledge and hands-on skills I’ve learned in my class.”

The programme took place from 8 am till noon.