CHILDREN HOLD KEY TO BETTER ENVIRONMENT

By Muin Abdul Majid

PORT OF SPAIN (Trinidad and Tobago), Nov 30 (Bernama) -- The wife of
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Rosmah Mansor, said efforts to conserve
the planet must start with teaching the leaders of tomorrow to be ever mindful
of environmental concerns in every decision they would be making for the future.

Rosmah said the children who would be the leaders of tomorrow, must be
wholesome individuals, able to understand the role of man in the wondrous and
delicate ecosystem called Earth.

"We must inculcate in our children this heightened degree of awareness, to
give them the knowledge that much can be done to conserve this planet through
the use of science and technology, and through everyday simple conservation
initiatives," she observed.

Rosmah said this in her speech under the theme, 'Building A More Sustainable
Future Through Early Childhood Care And Education' at a session organised for
the spouses of leaders attending the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting (CHOGM) 2009 here Sunday.

She noted that the environment was at the front and centre of contemporary
debate because the realities of environmental degradation would continue to
confront humankind daily, unless something was done now.

Gone were the days, she said, when environmental issues were seen as the
domain of radical activists, new-age naturists or even flower-power hippies.

"And so, we must start with the children today, and it's something which
I'm extremely passionate about," Rosmah said, alluding to her work on
Malaysia's National Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) initiative.

"The more I work on the scheme which we call PERMATA meaning 'jewels',
the more I'm in awe of the realisation that our children will be the ones to
make all the difference," she said, describing them as priceless treasures that
would ensure a brighter tomorrow and a greener future.

Rosmah told her audience that being aware of the need to consciously protect
and conserve nature must be made part of children's culture and psyche.

Children, she said, must be taught that it was offensive for luscious green
jungles teeming with life and colour to be reduced to rotting stumps of felled
trees sticking out of desolate land.

They must be given the awareness that progress and prosperity, while
absolutely necessary, must come with a well-balanced plan for the conservation
of nature, said Rosmah.

"If all of us were taught environmental awareness when we were children,
perhaps, we will not be in the mess we're today.

"So, before things get much worse, let's ensure that the next generation
will not repeat the same mistakes we've made and that they would instead, do
great things to repair the damage done by a far less-informed earlier
generation," she added.
-- BERNAMA