Interactive Map Brings Insight into Malaysia’s Coral Reef Health

KUALA LUMPUR, 26 OCTOBER 2023 – Over 26,000 kg of trash was collected by 10,209 Malaysians and visitors of various ages from beaches all over Malaysia throughout September for the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day and World Cleanup Day (WCD).

Among the trash collected, the most common item found was plastic bottles at 39,453 bottles. The second and third most common items were cigarette butts at 34,789 pieces and plastic or foam pieces at 29,298 pieces.

The ICC sees volunteers collecting and separating trash along coastlines all over Malaysia.

“It is great to see people of various backgrounds and ages come together and take action to combat marine pollution. This initiative not only helps to clean our coastlines but helps to raise awareness on the effects of our own consumption and habits when it comes to waste. You get to see where trash ends up when it is out of our sight.” mentioned Theresa Ng, the Chief Operating Officer of Reef Check Malaysia.

Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) has coordinated the nationwide ICC in Malaysia every year since 2018. Organizations, groups and individuals collect data during the cleanup and key in data into the Clean Swell app to contribute to the global database of cleanups by Ocean Conservancy.

Y.A.M Tengku Zatashah binti Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, the princess of Selangor and a well-known environmental and social activist, is no stranger to beach cleanups. Her Royal Highness is also one of the strong supporters of the ICC movement. “The plastic pollution problem is a serious problem. It is not enough to just talk about it, we must take active actions to combat it,” commented Tengku Zatashah who joined the ICC at Pantai Morib Baharu in Selangor this year.

WCD Country Leader for Malaysia, who is also the Executive Director of Malaysian Humanitarian Foundation (MHF), Henry Teh shared, “It is important for all of us to join hands to cleanup together as a big family in Malaysia. We cannot do the cleanups alone.” He congratulated RCM for their good efforts to bring corporates and volunteers together to do the beach cleanups.

The ICC in Malaysia this year was supported by TechnipFMC in support of their Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiative. TechnipFMC was joined by 360 employees and their families and cleaned up Pantai Remis, Selangor and Pantai Batu Layar, Johor.

TechnipFMC returned to support the ICC in 2023.

“TechnipFMC has cultivated a culture where we placed great emphasis on our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). This is in line with our ESG scorecard 2021-2023,” said Jason Labani, Vice President Subsea Projects & Asia Pacific Area.

“It’s also a way to promote further strong teamwork and engagement between employees in TechnipFMC Malaysia as the program runs simultaneously on the same day across different beaches in Malaysia.”

RCM also held their inaugural ICC event, ‘Kod Blue: Laut Needs You’ (Kod Blue) on 23 September at Kampung Paya, Tioman Island. The name of the event is a nod to the ‘code blue’ in the medical field which means an emergency. ‘Blue’ is also used to refer to the ocean. The latter part of the name is used to indicate a wake-up call and call to action as the ocean needs our urgent help.

“We are answering the ‘Kod Blue’ activated due to the threats faced by our oceans. It is important to not only show people the effects of marine debris but also to involve them in the process of protecting our ocean to create a sense of responsibility.” commented Alvin Chelliah, Chief Programme Officer of Reef Check Malaysia who is based in Tioman Island.

Kod Blue’s participants all ready for their cleanup.

The event was held in collaboration with Lions Club, Life Initiative for Environment, UDive and RipCurl. The event was also made possible with the support of Migalabs, HydroFlask, PADI and PADI Aware.

Kampung Paya, Tioman Island was chosen as the venue for the event in light of the recent success of stopping the construction of a new airport on Tioman Island. Kampung Paya is one of the villages that would have been greatly affected by the construction as the airport was to be built right in front of Kampung Paya’s doorstep.

The ‘Kod Blue’ event saw Lions Club members and volunteers cleaning the beach and diving to remove coral predators, the Crown-of-Thorns (COT). The first ever ‘pasar malam mesra alam’ in Kampung Paya was also held during the event, with 10 stall holders from the Kampung Paya community providing a range of local foods. The event proved very popular with visitors, who crowded stalls from the moment they opened.

Sharifah Sofia held an engaging workshop with kids at Kod Blue.

‘Kod Blue’ was also attended by RCM’s ambassadors, Baki Zainal and Sharifah Sofia, with the latter conducting a kids’ workshop. The event also saw lucky draws, a cleanup contest and an interactive education session with a glass bottle crusher machine.

“We are happy that the community of Kampung Paya was supportive of this event. They are already asking us to organize the event again next year”, added Alvin.

For more information on Reef Check Malaysia, you may visit them on their website, Facebook and Instagram or contact them at hello@reefcheck.org.my. 

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KUALA LUMPUR, 18 OCTOBER 2024 – 8,569 volunteers from all around Malaysia collected 41,015kg of trash during the annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) event in September 2024.

Among 388,730 items collected, the most common item found was plastic bottles at 50,785 bottles. The second and third most common items were cigarette butts at 39,584 pieces and plastic/foam pieces at 38,801 pieces.

Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) coordinates the nationwide ICC in Malaysia every year since 2018. Organizations, groups and individuals collect data during the cleanup and key in data into the Clean Swell app to contribute to the global database of cleanups by Ocean Conservancy.

Tengku Zatashah, Princess Beach Cleanup in action

Y.A.M Tengku Zatashah binti Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, the princess of Selangor, who is also fondly known as ‘Princess Beach Cleanup’, also participated in this year’s ICC. “The International Coastal Cleanup is an event I look forward to every year since 2017. Participating in beach cleanups allows us to see the problem firsthand and take action to address it. I encourage everyone to do their part in keeping our oceans clean.” commented Tengku Zatashah who joined the ICC at Pantai Morib Baharu in Selangor this year.

Proud volunteers of Hapag-Lloyd Business Services Malaysia that cleaned up Pantai Batu 23

This year’s ICC was supported by Hapag-Llyod Business Services Malaysia and KPMG Malaysia. Hapag-Llyod Business Services Malaysia’s volunteers cleaned Pantai Batu 23 for ICC and collected 54.75 kg of trash. KPMG Malaysia chose to clean Pantai Remis, Kuala Selangor and collected 126.61kg of trash.

Coastal Cleanup is an event I look forward to every year since 2017. Participating in beach cleanups allows us to see the problem firsthand and take action to address it. I encourage everyone to do their part in keeping our oceans clean.” commented Tengku Zatashah who joined the ICC at Pantai Morib Baharu in Selangor this year.

KPMG volunteers cleared 126.61kg of trash from Pantai Remis

Reef Check Malaysia also held their Kod Blue: Laut Needs You event as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC). Volunteers for Kod Blue 2024 which happened on 7 September at Kampung Air Batang, Tioman Island, collected 757.7kg of trash from the beach cleanup and 50.8kg of trash from the underwater cleanup. The underwater cleanup team also removed 62 coral predators, the Crown-of-Thorns starfish (COT).

All Kod Blue 2024 volunteers before the cleanups

“The objective of the event is to spread awareness about the issue of marine debris while bringing together the general public and the local community of Tioman Island,” said Theresa Ng, Chief Operating Officer of Reef Check Malaysia. “Kod Blue is an homage to the term used to mean ’emergency’ in the medical field, and ‘blue’ is also a nod to the ocean.”

The second event in the series featured a conservation talk by Reef Check Malaysia’s Chief Programmes Officer, Alvin Chelliah, a special ‘Action Camera Underwater Videography’ workshop by Reef Check Malaysia’s ambassador, Baki Zainal, a beach and underwater cleanup, a ‘Pasar Malam Mesra Alam’ offering local delicacies from the Tioman Island community, a glass crusher and coral block workshop, and a movie night.

Volunteers segregated trash according to types

The event was supported by sponsors including Migalabs, Diamond & Platinum, REEF, Bose, Sol Sauce Sunscreen, Akkord Scents, Nautika Scuba Centre, B&J Diving Centre, Small Towns Malaysia, Ryan’s Special Needs Care Centre, Garmin Malaysia, Cowa, MobyTek, and Nazri’s Place.

“We are grateful for our sponsors for their generous sponsorship and support for Kod Blue 2024.” commented Theresa.

“We also would like to thank our ambassadors, Sharifah Sofia and Baki Zainal, all of our volunteers including representatives from Tioman Development Authority, Department of Fisheries (DOF), Alam Flora, SWCORP ROMPIN, PERHILITAN Department, Tioman Police, SMK Tekek (Nature Lovers Club), and Malaysia Civil Defence Force for participating in our cleanup effort.” added Theresa.

A TMCG member who supported our cleanup weighed all trash collected

Every year, millions of tons of trash—including an estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic waste—flows into the ocean, impacting more than 800 marine species and even entering the food chain.

“When I first heard about Kod Blue 2024, I was excited, and I think it is a good chance to be part of conservation work with experts in the field. It was not easy to make time for this event, but I am very happy I did. I get to meet like-minded people, and I enjoy every second of the activities. I have a lot of takeaways from this event” commented Yvonne Jong, one of the underwater participants of Kod Blue 2024.

For more information on Reef Check Malaysia, you may visit them on their website, Facebook and Instagram or contact them at hello@reefcheck.org.my.

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