By Eka Tharudin
GOMBAK, 29 September 2017: Youths and students were recently enlightened on the issues of environmental destruction and reminded that they too have a role to help sustain the environment and preserve nature.
A talk entitled “Muslim Youth and Environmentalism 2.0” held on Thursday (28 September) highlighted the environmental problems in Malaysia following excessive and unethical logging and cutting down of the forest which led to environmental disaster.
Organised by the Islamic Revealed Knowledge Students’ Secretariat (ISRAK) in collaboration with Arabic Language Association (ALA), the talk was joined by three experienced panelists- the President of Kumpulan Aktivis Sahabat Alam (KUASA), Hafizudin Nasarudin, President of IIUM Eco Club, Adam Kamal, and President of Grup Alam Sekitar (GRASS) Malaysia, Muhammad Yusaimi Md Yusof.
With experienced panelists on board, the main focus of the talk was ways to enlighten the youth on current environmental problems in Malaysia, the role of Muslim youth, and how Islam has been outlined as the finest way to preserve nature.
Hafizudin Nasarudin touched on the underlying issues of unethical logging in Malaysia. “Irresponsible loggers usually provide paper works with legal procedure stated. However, knowing that the authorities do not have enough manpower to do constant monitoring and supervision of the project, they always abuse their contracts.”
Adam Kamal expressed the youths’ roles in sustaining the environment. He said that the coexistence of human and nature should be kept balanced to avoid further damage and natural disaster.
He said, “Youth should engage themselves with nature, be it through reading, hiking, joining activist programmes or involved in environmentalism discussion.”
Meanwhile, the next panelist, Muhammad Yusaimi weighed on human ignorance in acknowledging that the nature itself has equal rights to live as human beings do.
He said, “We are too arrogant. We tend to forget that the trees and animals around us are living things that worship Allah”
“We forgot that a khalifah should do justice not only to human beings, but also to all living things and Allah’s creation,” Yusaimi added.
The event was wrapped up with the signing of a declaration where demands on having an environmental-friendly campus election was suggested.
One of the suggested points was calling on winning candidates to provide sufficient recycle bins at every Kulliyyah. The declaration was signed by the presidents of Kulliyah-based society of IIUM and the audiences.***