WHILE Malaysian athletes were crowned as national heroes after winning 145 gold, 92 silver and 86 bronze medals at the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games, a group of volunteers worked tirelessly to ensure the 12-day competition ran smoothly.

As the athletes competed for the coveted gold in the sporting arenas, the unsung heroes were outside stadiums, keeping the area clean.

Puteri Nabila Umi was among them.

“Please separate the garbage according to the recycle bins; blue bins for plastic bottles, orange for paper and glass bottles,” she told visitors.

The Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (UPM) student also provided visitors with information on recycling.

“Most people think our job is to collect rubbish, but it’s not. It’s more towards educating the public on what items can be recycled and what can’t,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

Although this came with its own set of hurdles, the Science, Technology and Environment student said she was happy to be able to contribute to the Sea Games in her own way.

“There are many people with different kinds of temperament. Some want to listen to my explanation on recycling, but others just ignore it. I’m just glad to be able to help.

“If the area is garbage-free, it projects a good image of Malaysia.”

Nabila is among the 780 students from public and private universities who participated in the “green volunteers” programme during the Games.

Wearing green collared T-shirts and black pants, the volunteers were seen at every corner where recycling bins were located.

They also went around the sporting venues, holding placards that said “Separate your garbage according to the recycle label” and carrying garbage bags for those who had trash to throw away.

For UPM student Aminuddin Mohd Shafie, it was an honour and a great opportunity to be at the Sea Games.

“I am very happy and excited because I can be part of the Games. The last time we were the host country was 16 years ago.

“I don’t know if I will get the chance again, so I volunteered. It is good exposure, and I will continue to volunteer.”

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) students Cheong Sai Jin and Chan Gian Hui travelled from Sungai Buloh daily to be part of the programme.

“We came here via public transport from Sungai Buloh. As the programme is about raising environmental awareness, we wanted to encourage visitors to use public transport, too,” they said.

Awed by the support of visitors to the Games, both students vowed to continue to raise awareness on environmental issues.

“This is the first time we volunteered. It’s really fun and a new experience for us. It’s also quite tiring at times, but we enjoy it,” said Cheong.

“And, most importantly, not only do we get to educate visitors about recycling, but we also get to learn about the importance of recycling.

“There used to be a lot that we did not know about recycling, but now we do.”

The programme was organised by the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry, and the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation.

The garbage collected during the Sea Games is recycled into fertiliser using a mini incinerator.

Besides UPM and UTAR, the volunteers were also from Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Taylor’s University. – August 31, 2017.