SANDAKAN: Keeping Sandakan clean cannot rest solely on local authorities; it requires participation from all parties, said Sandakan MP Vivian Wong Shir Yee. She urged residents to stop littering, practise recycling and help ensure the city and housing areas remain clean and safe. She spoke after officiating the Sandakan district-level Malaysia Clean-Up Day 2026 at Harbour Square on Saturday.
The event drew encouraging support from various community groups, who joined cleanup activities and a public awareness campaign. Vivian welcomed it as a platform to raise awareness of environmental cleanliness, stressing that waste management is not only about hygiene but also economic value through the Trash to Cash initiative.
Under Trash to Cash, people can collect recyclable items such as plastic and paper, as well as used cooking oil, to sell or exchange for money instead of throwing them into sinks or drains and polluting waterways. Vivian said this teaches the public that waste can have value when managed properly, while providing extra income and reducing landfill waste and environmental harm.
Organised with the Sandakan Municipal Council (MPS), the programme began at 6.00 am with plogging along main routes in the city centre. Volunteers from MyChampion, COMBI Sandakan, the Malaysian Scouts Association Sandakan District, government agencies and the public took part.
A community self-cleanup operation was also held at Sandakan Central Market, where traders cleaned their own lots before waste was collected for official data coordination by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT). The programme also featured a Trash to Cash counter, used cooking oil purchasing, an MPS mobile counter, and exhibition and educational booths by related agencies.
It is hoped that Malaysia Clean-Up Day 2026 in Sandakan will foster sustained hygiene and recycling habits and promote waste management that benefits both the environment and the community’s economy. Sapiah Aliasa, MPS head of legal and chair of the Sandakan district-level implementation committee, said the programme translates the national cleanliness agenda into concrete district-level action, and that public involvement in plogging and gotong-royong reflects Sandakan residents’ awareness and volunteerism.
The programme also included sustainability education, such as speech presentations and a Primary School Recycled Sculpture Competition featuring seven creative works by pupils from SK Karamunting, SK Kampung Bahagia, SJK (C) Pei Ying, SK Sungai Manila and SK Tanjong Aru Komprehensif 9. – James Leong
Vivian (centre), with officials and schoolchildren during the programme.
