In conjunction with the World Environment Day tomorrow (June 5), Gerakan pressed for the government to “go green” to create a “greener 1Malaysia”.

Gerakan head of central bureau of environment, safety and quality of life, Dr Cheah Soon Hai said the government and the public should be creative in interpreting the word “green” from different perspectives.

“Greening Malaysia is not just about planting more trees and reducing, reusing and recycling, it is much more than that,” enlightened Cheah, who added that more effective and specific measures need to be introduced to protect the environment.

Cheah said among the dynamically sound measures to safeguard the environment are working towards a ‘zero waste’ economy, encouraging local authorities to provide more incentives for the people to recycle and working on innovative ways to reduce littering.

“All parties, including the government, private sectors and NGOs must create a presumption in favour of sustainable development in the environment planning system,” stressed Cheah.

Cheah reminded that sustainability is the key to future developments in line with one of the three main goals of the New Economic Model (NEM), the other two being high-income economy and inclusiveness.

“Going green should not just be a mere slogan or rhetoric anymore, it must now be a paradigm shift to generate a green revolution to make this world a better place, for you and for me,” said Cheah.

Cheah further added that the concept of evolving from the mere growth of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to GWB (General Well-Being) should now be emphasized on as a pre-requisite for a more holistic and ideal sustainable development.

The theme of this year’s World Environment Day, “Many Species. One Planet. One Future”, echoes the call of the International Year of Biodiversity to stop the mass extinction of flora and fauna and raise awareness about the vital importance of the millions of species that inhabit our planet’s soils, forests, oceans, coral reefs and mountains. Our health, well-being and sustainable future depend on this intricate, delicate web of ecosystems and life.