By Diana Abd Wahab
SHAH ALAM, Feb 12 — The Shah Alam Car-Free Day event, themed Citrawarna, at Dataran Kemerdekaan in Section 14 here was attended by more than 3,000 visitors.
Shah Alam City Council’s (MBSA) Corporate and Public Relations Division head Shahrin Ahmad said the monthly event is often looked forward to by the public, due to its various activities.
In conjunction with Car-Free Day, MBSA in collaboration with the Institute of Medical Research (IMR) also organised the ‘IMR 123 Fun Run’ programme.
“The five-kilometre Fun Run from the square through the city centre was a focal point as over 1,500 participants of various ages and races joined in.
“The main thrust of conducting the event is to provide residents of Shah Alam and the surrounding areas some space for leisure and recreational activities on weekends, with their families.
“In addition to MBSA’s target of becoming a low-carbon city by 2030, we also consider such an event as important to strengthening family ties, in line with civil society aspirations by creating a harmonious atmosphere for prosperous and happy families,” he said when met today,” he said at the event earlier today.
Shahrin added that MBSA was the first local authority in Malaysia to pioneer the Car-Free Day event, starting in 2018.
Now in its fifth year, it has been met with a positive public response every time it is organised on the second Sunday of every month.
Starting at 7.30am, the Shah Alam Car-Free Day event features a wide variety of activities like leisurely cycling, aerobics, cultural dance performances, silat performances, angklung, lucky draws, quizzes, and archery.
Special activities for children were also held, including inflatable balloons, petting zoos, wayang pacak, as well as the Shah Alam on Wheels service, a mobile library, and an exhibition on finding and destroying Aedes mosquitoes.
Members of the public were also presented with the opportunity to do free health screenings, seek for employment at a career fair prepared by McDonalds meant specifically for youths.
