By Zareef Muzammil
SHAH ALAM, Aug 19 — Twenty locations in Selangor under the Friends of River (FoR) initiative will be set in motion on September 26, in conjunction with the World Rivers Day at the state level.
Selangor Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said FoR was initiated for the conservation and preservation of the rivers in the state by the local communities, its leaders, and NGOs.
“The launch of the initiative was initially scheduled to be held in March but has been moved to September, following the Covid-19 pandemic and the enforced movement control order.
“The small-scale event will be held simultaneously, adhering to the standard operating procedures, with low numbers of participants or communities attending at one time,” he told a press conference at the State Secretariat building here yesterday.
Amirudin is expected to launch the programme at Sungai Klang in Taman Melawati, Gombak, which will be broadcasted live on social media to reduce the participation of the local communities at the event.
The programme will run from 8.30am to 10am, focusing on gotong-royong activities of the river.
Worlds River Day is an annual global celebration of the world’s waterways, held on the fourth Sunday of September, and was initiated to increase public awareness on the many values of the rivers.
International river conservationist Mark Angelo had founded the event in 2005, and millions of people in over 70 countries have taken part in the initiative.
