By Marissa Nazeera and Fahim Hakimi
GOMBAK, 26 October 2022: A total of 140 students came to Azman Hashim Complex to volunteer in an initiative called ‘Save Our River’.
Co-organised by IIUM Academic Staff Association, IIUM Student Union, and a few other collaborators, ˜Save Our River was held last Friday (21 October 2022) in conjunction with the World Environment Day to raise awareness of the current poor condition of IIUM river.
The river’s condition has dramatically worsened over the past few years due to the active sand dumping from development areas nearby.
The event began with a river tour led by facilitators to educate volunteers on the current state of the river, its quality, and topography.
Volunteers were brought to six checkpoints namely Central Square, Human Science Square, Pond 2, Rectory Building, Kulliyyah of Economic and Management Science-Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws, and Kulliyyah of Architecture, and Environmental Design-Office of Security and Management.
Prof. Dr. Ir. Marlinda Abd Malek, from Kulliyyah of Engineering, repeatedly emphasised how the top-notch environmental laws have been impeded by poor enforcement to protect the river. The massive development upstream without proper mitigation plan has contributed to the drastic poor situation of the river.
She explained that the academicians and students biggest concerns during the monsoon season would be the flood. The current river may not be able to handle heavy rain since it has been eroded by the large quantity of sand.
After the sand-scooping event and launching ceremony of ‘Save Our River’, IIUM Rector, Prof. Tan Sri Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, clarified that IIUM river has been named as one of the IIUM flagship sustainable projects since 2019. It was the first step taken to ensure the river is safeguarded.
However, since such an initiative required many students’ involvement, the Rector declared every first Friday of the month to be the day where students and staff dedicate their time in attending the campus environment.
This initiative was well welcomed by the Project Manager of ˜Save Our River, Br. Muqri Kamaruzaman, who invited all Kulliyyah-Based Societies, Mahallah Representative Councils, and clubs to conduct any programmes that will benefit the river.
Nonetheless, Muqri stressed out that ˜Save Our River team will conduct an accountability forum with the soon-to-be-elected MP Gombak. The effort is proposed with the aim to search for the real culprit and hold the party accountable for their negligence throughout the past few years.
Meanwhile, the Deputy President of IIUM Student Union, Sr. Athirah Abdullah, also demanded relevant authority to start joining forces with ˜Save Our River collaborators to resolve the issue. This invitation is vital since the team of ˜Save Our River has the manpower and resources but not the power.
Hence, Athirah stated that if the relevant authority wished to serve the people and prevent a bigger disaster, further discussion with ˜Save Our River team is needed to find possible solutions.
In line with Surah Ar-Rum, verse 41, Allah mentioned:
“Corruption has spread on land and sea as a result of what peoples hands have done, so that Allah may cause them to taste ˹the consequences of˺ some of their deeds and perhaps they might return ˹to the Right Path˺.”
Therefore, the responsibility to save IIUM river should be a collective initiative where everyone works hand in hand.***