By Sarah Afifah
GOMBAK, 26 April 2018- A tree planting project was launched last Sunday (22 April) at Tasik Maryam, IIUM, in conjunction with Earth Day, to create awareness among IIUM community on the greening of the environment.
Chairman of IIUM Academic Staff Association (ASA), Prof. Dr. Nor Faridah Abdul Wahab, “The tree planting is an effort from us (ASA) in greening the campus.” She further specified that “this project is a part of ‘Save Our River’ (SOR) project to save rivers and lakes that we have in IIUM”.
Meanwhile, the President of ASA, Prof. Dr. Mohamad Fauzan Nordin, who was also present during the launching, said that “it is vital for us as human beings to remember that Islam advocates the significance of ‘habluminannas’, not just ‘habluminallah’. He further elaborated that “habluminannas’ not only consist of relationship between human beings but also involves relationship of human beings with the rest of Allah’s creations”.
“It is important for IIUM community to ensure the continuation of effort to preserve the rivers and lakes. The ecosystem should be taken care of to avoid calamities in the future,” said Kalam, a representative from Persatuan Bekas Pelajar MRSM Malaysia.
Some 30 plants were planted on that day comprising mango, bamboo, cashew and jackfruit trees. The trees were bought with money donated by numerous sources such as concerned individuals, non-governmental organisations, IIUM students, and the alumni.
The tree planting project was joined by more than 40 people from numerous backgrounds, consisting of 12 students from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), two representatives from  Persatuan Bekas Pelajar MRSM Malaysia (ANSARA), IIUM students, members of IIUM Academic Staff Association (ASA), and representatives from River For Life Organisation.
The ‘Save Our River (SOR)’ project has been ongoing and continuously geared since 2015. The tree planting project is one of the many projects under the 2018 Save Our River. This project will go on until December, with further activities to be carried out in May and December this year. ***