KUALA LUMPUR: A group of youths known as Squad Johor Bersih (SJB) have joined forces to clean the drains in this city without pay or reward.
Their activities have gained attention from netizens afater one of the youths, Mohammad Karami Rashid, 35, uploaded a video of their activities on the TikTok platform.
The most recent post garnered up to 1.2 million views.
He said the video was taken when he and his buddies were cleaning drains near the Eastern Dispersal Link Expressway (EDL) exit.
Mohammad Karami said the task began at 9am yesterday with the goal of cleaning the drains in the neighbourhood that were clogged with stagnant water.
"My friends and I all work for a cleaning company in Singapore. Coincidentally, we had our day off yesterday, so we used the time to clean the drain.
"We chose that location because it is an accident-prone area, and we were concerned that stagnant water would overflow, making the roadway more slippery and possibly harming passing cars.
"So, with our work experience, we agreed to carry out the activity and took an hour and a half to clean the drain," he said.
He said the group did not feel tired, and enjoyed completing the cleaning task from start to the end.
Despite being exposed to dirt, he expressed satisfaction that they were able to complete the task.
"In fact, yesterday's activity was not the first; we had previously worked with Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, on a 'gotong-royong' programme in front of the Pandan Wholesale Market, near the Permas Jaya overhead bridge and the Bakar Batu Islam Cemetery.
"We did it voluntarily, motivated by the Menteri Besar's sincerity in launching and carrying out the Johor Bersih initiative. It has been two months since my friends and I have been going out into the field to do cleaning work, only on holidays or when we have free time, and not every week," he added.
The group consists of eight men: Mohammad Karami; Helmi Firdaus Kasiron, 32; Haris Edris, 35; Mazlan Ahmat, 35; Mohd Fizie Mohd Khalid, 35; Shahrul Shahdan Mas Anton, 28; Abdul Rahman Syarifuddin, 30; and Kamaruddin Suliman, 32.
Mohammad Karami said his goal was to create awareness to the need for cleanliness.
"I never anticipated this attention, let alone so much support.
"Some have even compared our efforts to those of the well-known Indonesian group Pandawara, which is known for its garbage and river cleanup activities," he said.
He added that there were a few who had criticised them but many had praised them and they will continue with this activity to bring change.
"While there were a few who criticised us, more people praised us with words of motivation.
"We will continue with SJB and hope that the entire community will join hands with us to bring about change and encourage cleanliness and better, cleaner drains," he added.