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City Hall’s lead in Earth Hour gets support

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The Earth Hour 2016 celebration will also include a 20km Earth Hour Bike Ride 2016.

The Earth Hour 2016 celebration will also include a 20km Earth Hour Bike Ride 2016.

KOTA KINABALU: Kota Kinabalu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KKCCCI) president Datuk Michael Lui Yen Sang yesterday pledged full support for City Hall’s Earth Hour 2016 campaign to show its concern towards climate change.

He urged KKCCCI members, the business community and individuals as well as organizations to switch off non-essential lights, electrical and electronic appliances for an hour on March 19, between 8.30pm to 9.30pm sharp as a symbolic support to preserve the Earth.

Lui was responding to a circular issued by Mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai who sought support from KKCCCI for this meaningful global event.

“We must respond positively to all the government’s efforts in addressing global climate changes.”

He said Earth Hour was not merely an awareness and education campaign, but also to cultivate the public’s consciousness and commitment towards the preservation of a green and clean environment.

“We can play our part by changing and adopting a sustainable daily lifestyle such as not littering, recycling, reducing the use of electricity, car pooling and using public transportation among others to create a better environment in an effort to address global climate change.”

On Friday, Yeo invited every city folk to take part in the Earth Hour with other people from all over the world.

“We are not sure about other districts but we in KK (Kota Kinabalu) will lead the way.

“On March 19, we will try our very best in this room, in our house first, to switch off for one hour. Awareness on this is enough, but the application might not be there yet,” he said during the Kota Kinabalu City level Earth Hour 2016 press conference on Friday.

According to Yeo, the event has been celebrated by Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) since 2011 and this year’s celebration will be officiated by Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun at Segama Waterfront from 5pm to 10pm on Saturday.

He also called on residential and business establishments to switch off their unused lights and electrical equipment from 8.30pm to 9.30pm to raise awareness on global warming.

Besides that, the closing of streets lights will commence within the same hour around Likas Bay, Yayasan Sabah, UMS roundabout, Segama Complex, Segama Waterfront, Sinsuran, Jalan Tun Razak, the city centre and the Karamunsing flyover, as well as the Jalan Mat Salleh lights all the way to the Tanjung Aru first beach.

The lights will also be put out at DBKK buildings in the city.

Meanwhile, DBKK has also arranged for various activities to celebrate the call for a good cause, including ‘Low Power Entertainment’ by Youth Prep Alam Mesra volunteers, the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature, and buskers from the Sabah Creative Industry Group Movement (SCIGM).

DBKK also expects the 20km Earth Hour Bike Ride 2016 to pull in 300 to 400 participants this year, Yeo said.

The ride will start at Hyatt Regency Kinabalu hotel, go all the way to the Yayasan Sabah roundabout and turn back to the hotel.

The symbolic lighting of the 60+ logo will be held again this year alongside a ‘Save Energy for Climate Action’ (SEFCA) programme to encourage the culture of saving energy and unrenewable resources to curb global warming, Yeo noted.

The SEFCA is a competition that evaluates the decrease in energy consumption for the month of March, April and May 2016 and is divided into two categories, namely Private Housings that have not participated in the Feed In Tariff (FIT) Scheme, and Kota Kinabalu City primary and secondary schools.

The grand prize winner will receive RM1,000 in cash, while second place will receive RM700 and third place RM500.

Five consolation prizes of RM150 each will also be given out, and all winners will receive a participation certificate.

A lantern design competition, ‘Eko-Tang Lung’, will also be held in celebration of Earth Hour here.

The competition will be divided into two categories, namely for the age of 12 to 17 and for the 18 years old and above adults category.

Eko-Tang Lungs will also be given out by WWF volunteers to the public.

The public will also have a chance to look at the stars and planets through the Sabah Stargazers Associations’ telescope.

Also present at the press conference were WWF Malaysia Sabah Conservation head Dr John Tay, DBKK director general Joannes Solidau, Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry environment head Christopher Jintoni, SESB engineering general manager Khung Chiang Sing, and Hyatt Regency Kinabalu engineering director Paul Lajumin.

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