It’s not exactly news to us that the rivers in Kuala Lumpur are heavily polluted thanks to residents who inconsiderately litter everywhere.
Fortunately, there are ‘Citizen River Guardians’ like 53-year-old Kennedy Michael and volunteers like himself who are part of the Alliance of River Three, a group determined to restore the Klang River as much as they can to its natural state.
A video shared by TikTok user Patrick Lee starts with Michael speaking about a clean river in Taman Melawati, which used to be dirty, had foul-smelling water with rubbish everywhere, and had weeds that grew up to the knees.
“With our volunteers, we cleaned the banks, took out the trash, planted native trees, and built trails,” he said in the video.
Michael then shared that the volunteer group has recently restored about 1 kilometer of the Klang River close to its former glory.
He also stated that humans are responsible for the heavy pollution in rivers when we litter or pour oil down the sink.
“Water is a gift to humanity. It includes everyone, and everyone is a polluter. It is everyone’s responsibility to look after the river,” Michael said.
Seeing as Michael and others in the Alliance of River Three are volunteers, they do not get paid for cleaning up the river. Their mission to clean up the first 5 kilometers of the Klang River is an altruistic and ambitious effort as he also mentions they plan to clean the river all the way to the sea.
Netizens have commended Michael and the group’s efforts to restore the city’s river, with some even expressing their interest in joining as a volunteer.
If you or anyone you know is interested in becoming a Citizen River Guardian, get in touch with the Alliance of River Three at [email protected] and be a part of a noble collective effort to save our rivers.
