Article: A mini vegetable plot grows in Seri Teratai

Saturday July 25, 2009

By DERRICK VINESH

Seri Teratai care taker Halijah Saad 52 helping chief minister wife's Betty Chew cultivating the mini vegetable garden at Macalister Road.

CHIEF Minister Lim Guan Eng's wife is leading by example in promoting environmental preservation in Penang by cultivating a mini vegetable garden, using organic compost at his official residence of Seri Teratai in Macalister Road, says DAP Wanita head Chong Eng.

Betty Chew Gek Cheng has recently began planting brinjals and chillies using composts made from kitchen waste at the Chief Ministers official residence, Seri Teratai in Macalister Road.

''Chew has also bought a container to make her own compost from kitchen waste. This is a good case of leadership by example that would encourage more households (in Penang) to take the state's environment-friendly promotions seriously,'' she said at the 'Karnival Rumahku Mesra Alam' event at SJK (C) Kim Sen here recently.

Chong Eng also praised the St Anne's Church in Bukit Mertajam for imposing a ban this year on the use of styrofoam utensils within the church premises during the St Annes Novena and Feast celebration.

She said the move showed that more organisations as well as individuals were taking the green theme positively.

''We must start (this environment-conservation effort) somewhere, otherwise we will never be able to take it to the next level.

"Presently, our daily household waste of 1.2 kg per person in Penang is higher than the national average of 0.8 kg,'' she said.

Earlier, when opening the event, Chew said people could save money if they practised the 3Rs environment-friendly concept which is to recycle, reduce and reuse their waste.

''With the current (global) economic slowdown, it would be wise to adopt the 3R environment concept at home, where we can also earn some extra cash from selling recycled items.''

''We can also save money spent on expensive fertilisers and detergents, if we can produce them in our own homes using organic wastes and used cooking oil,'' she said.

About 500 people attended the half-day event organised by the Seberang Prai Municipal Council.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Metro: North, 25 July 2009