PUTRAJAYA: Malaysians have been urged to keep their surroundings clean and beautiful.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said if this becomes a Malaysian culture, it would turn Malaysia into a beautiful garden country.
Speaking at the launch of the 2019 National Landscape Day, he said emphasis should be given to landscaping efforts to beautify homes, villages and towns.
"Malaysia is gifted with a good climate and fertile soil. Anything you plant will flourish well.
"Therefore, we should take this opportunity to plant plants, trees and flowers to further beautify our surroundings and the country," he said.
Dr Mahathir said town planning should also be conducted in an orderly manner by taking into account the layout of the same type of buildings and the selection of suitable trees to beautify landscapes and garden.
“There is an impact if a certain area is left open, so that we can plant trees and it is not left just like that.
“In addition, focus on the beauty of trees that are planted along roads and create places for residents to rest on weekends,’’ he said.
He said Putrajaya was merely an empty plot of land some 20 years ago, but now is home to thousands of trees and plants.
Dr Mahathir said instead of being engaged in graffiti art, landscaping should be encouraged in town areas.
"The graffiti drawings on buildings which have no meaning is very ugly to see. Some of the words and phrases have no meaning.
"If there is a meaning, then it's okay. I have nothing against my picture which is drawn on a building in Alor Setar. That's is okay," he said tongue in cheek.
At the event, which was also attended by Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad, Dr Mahathir handed out several awards in the form of grants to communities, developers and local authorities which successfully planned and implemented comprehensive landscape managements.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall received the grand award of RM1 million grant under the national park initiative.
Putrajaya Corporation and Iskandar Puteri each walked away with a grant worth RM500,000 and RM300,000 respectively.
The National Landscape Day was initiated in 1998 every March 3 aimed at mobilising a culture of love for landscaping among the people in line with Core 1 of the National Landscape Policy, namely, to popularise love for landscaping.
Held for the first time here, the celebration was over three days from Friday with the theme ‘’The Most Beautiful Garden Nation, Malaysia’’.
Twelve interesting activities were held to attract visitors including aerobic exercise, exploring the botany garden, flower-arranging contest, people’s games, botany talk and drawing contests for primary school children.