By Yasmin Latif
In IIUM campus usually the classes end at around 6.00 to 7.00 pm. By this time, all the staff of Daya Bersih have gone home after completing their working hours.
No cleaners are around to clean up unless the owner of cafe where we have our food can clean up all kinds of stuff and left-overs after we students have eaten. We should not just depend on these staff without making any effort to help.
The obvious spots totally look like a shipwreck. The trashes can be seen all over the tables and on the floor. Clearly we can see the trashes every where. Just imagine with the trashes lying around on the table there the whole night after we leave for our Mahallah it would certainly invite pests like rats, flies and cockroaches.
A cafe is a place where people come to eat, so it should be left clean all the time. We, as responsible members of campus community, should not depend entirely on cleaners to do the job. Why can’t we take upon ourselves to do something about it?
There is nothing wrong if we take the trashes or garbage and throw them away properly. Clean up our table and put those trashes in the bins that are available around. I don’t think it is that difficult for us to do this. It comes naturally with positive attitudes and good values imbibed in us.
It is not just about the hygiene of these places but it is also about the image of our university that we proudly call the “Garden of Knowledge and Virtues”.
Our attitudes and behaviour do not speak well on the identity of an Islamic university that we should all be proud of. We have been taught that Islam is very concerned about cleanliness.
We should, therefore, set a good example for others outside the campus by holding to the values and teachings of our religion. We should be ashamed of ourselves if this simple thing cannot be done.***