SCSH 1201

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: ISSUES, PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES

INDIVIDUAL PAPER

MUHAMMAD IZZUL AKMAL BIN MOHAMAD HALIM (2219377)

MUHAMMAD ASHRAFF DANIEL BIN RASIDY (2219583)

NURSYAZWI SAFWAN BIN MOHD MOKHTAR (2217073)

DR. AZ ZAHARA BINTI HAJI ABU JAMAL

KULLIYYAH OF LANGUAGE AND MANAGEMENT, UIAM PAGOH

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In this postmodern era, Malaysia has become a developed and expanding country from every

angle of socioeconomics and eco-tourism just like other developed countries. The construction of

skyscrapers and factories all over Malaysia has contributed to increasing the country's economic

and industrial resources. However, this situation is not hundred percent good for the community

because there are also various bad implications to come as a result of human actions that are too

greedy, too much chasing after luxury and exploiting the environment resulting in river

pollution. The progress of a profit-motivated country must also reflect the consideration of

human responsibility towards the environmental treasures commanded by Allah SWT. The

universe and its vast surroundings are a priceless gift from Allah SWT and we as creatures who

hold the title of Muslim are entrusted with the responsibility of preserving the environment

which is a divine creation because according to the Hadith of Muslim History, “This world is

green and beautiful and God has appointed you as the manager. He saw what you were doing”.

But in this era, we often see the problem of river pollution in our country. Therefore, the question

that should be thought in the mind is what is the challenge that can be identified that hinder the

efforts to create a clean river in the life of the community? The main challenge that has a big

impact on the difficulty of creating a clean river system in the country is the attitude of

irresponsible individuals who break the law by throwing rubbish into the river. This will have a

bad effect on the river when all the domestic waste and garbage is thrown into it. Individuals

who are not concerned either by themselves or according to the instructions of their superiors

will willingly throw away the waste produced to nearby rivers. Such individuals are still

stubborn and do not want to follow the law that has been issued by the Department of

Environment because for them no serious action or compound will be imposed on offenders who

throw garbage into the river. This situation also occurs due to weak law enforcement factors in

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the country and the attitude of some other communities who just turn a blind eye and ignore

these individuals to continue to litter and damage the environment in front of their eyes and do

not take efficient steps to reprimand these individuals or report it to the authorities. This action is

very contrary to the demands of Islam where Abu Said al-Khudri RA narrated that the

Messenger of God SAW said, “Whoever among you sees something evil, then he should change

it with his hands, if he is not willing then with his mouth and if he is not willing then with his

heart like this that is the weakest of faith”. This hadith advises Muslims to do good things and

forbids doing bad things. If the attitude of the people who are still unaware and take for granted

the issue of dumping garbage into the river, it is not impossible that the river will be filled with

garbage and plastic garbage floating on the surface of the river causing the color of the river

water to turn greenish and black and at the same time also cause odor pollution. Some examples

of a river pollution issues that can be taken in our country is the pollution of Sungai Gersik in

Labuan which has been reported in “Bernama” article. Acting chief executive officer of Labuan,

Corporation Rithuan Ismail said the community's indifference to throwing garbage and waste

into the river is the main cause of Gersik River pollution. In addition, there was also a case of

river pollution that happened in Kampung Seri Jaya Baru, Tampoi, Johor. According to

Mohamed Farid Noh (2021) in an article “Berita Harian” online, he stated that this case of river

pollution is believed to have occurred due to the dumping of rubbish including plastic waste,

plastic bottles and food delivery company boxes that floated causing flash floods in Tampoi,

Johor Bahru. Other than that, there is also a case of river pollution that happened in Kampung

Abdullah Mantin, Negeri Sembilan reported by Mohd Amin Jalil in “Berita Harian” online. The

chairman of the state's Health, Environment, Cooperatives and Consumerism Action Committee,

S Veerapan, said that an inspection at the location in question found a pile of rubbish which,

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among other things, consisted of wood, plastic, paper, construction waste and rubber caused by

the attitude of those who disposed of rubbish in the area using hidden path surrounded by bushes

and located about 800 meters from the main road. If this pollution issue continues to be rampant

and is not curbed immediately by any party, it is not impossible that it will lead to a situation

where the country's image will be polluted and bad in the eyes of foreign tourists who come to

the country. Foreign tourists will think that the people who live in Malaysia are people who do

not cooperate in caring for the cleanliness of the environment and at the same time reduce the

economic resources of the country's tourism due to the factor of foreign tourists who no longer

want to visit this country. The conclusion that can be formulated as a whole, it is clear that the

attitude of some individuals who still stubbornly break the law and throw rubbish into the river is

the main challenge to create a clean river in this country. Therefore, proactive actions must be

carried out in detail by various parties such as the school, the media and the government to deal

with the problem of river pollution that occurs in the country and impose harsh measures on

those who are guilty in order to serve as a lesson to others. Although many efforts have been

made by the government to overcome the problem of river pollution, it will not succeed if it does

not get the cooperation and support of the community. Individuals who still like to throw rubbish

into the river should intend and try to change themselves for the better and be responsible human

for taking care of the environment around them. In the Hadith narrated by Bukhari and Muslim,

from Amirul Mu'minin Abi Hafs, Umar bin Al-Khattab RA, he said, I heard the Prophet SAW

say: “Indeed, every action is based on intention and truly everyone follows what he intends”.

This kind of act turns out to be a noble practice in the eyes of Allah SWT and does not give any

bad effect to those individuals but instead educates themselves to always listen and obey to

Allah's command so that they become beneficial Muslims for society, religion and country.

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REFERENCES

Contoh Karangan Pencemaran Sungai Pt3 Terbaik. (2022). Retrieved from

https://mypt3.com/contoh-karangan-pencemaran-sungai

Bernama. (2022). Sikap tidak peduli masyarakat punca pencemaran Sungai Gersik. Retrieved
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Media Permata. (2022). JPS, Perbadanan Labuan teruskan usaha bersih Sg Gersik. Retrieved
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