04/10/2025

SATURDAY | OCT 4, 2025

COMMUNITY 7

Festival celebrates plant-based living, launches ‘Meatless Monday’ o Seventh Malaysia VegFest sees record footfall and support of opinion leaders

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Forestry Department (SFD), in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), recently concluded a comprehensive three-day onboarding programme for the newly formed Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration (Folur) Malaysia project team. Held in Sandakan, the orientation was designed to accelerate the integration of the team and equip them with the knowledge and resources needed to effectively deliver on the project’s ambitious goals. The event featured presentations and facilitation from relevant resource officers from SFD. The onboarding programme had several key objectives, centering on providing a clear understanding of the Folur-MY project’s mission, values and expectations. It aimed to ensure all team members have a firm grasp of their specific responsibilities and deliverables, while also facilitating crucial connections with colleagues, supervisors and UNDP partners to foster a collaborative working environment. KUALA in collaboration with the Vegan Society Malaysia (VSM) and Malaysian Vegetarian Society (MVS), recently concluded the seventh edition of Malaysia VegFest, drawing robust support from the public and industry leaders. This year’s festival, held from Sept 25 to 28 at NU Sentral Mall here, was the largest edition to date, with an estimated 15,000 visitors across the four days. The event brought together over 70 plant-based food innovators, sustainable lifestyle brands and eco-conscious creators under one roof. It included the launch of the ‘Meatless Monday Malaysia’ campaign on the third day. As a start, 245 people pledged to have a plant-based meal every Monday. VEG-HUB founder and CEO Gulshan Rai described the event as the biggest and most impactful yet. “From the overwhelming public turnout to the enthusiastic support of key opinion leaders, we are proud to see the plant based movement gaining momentum in Malaysia,” she said. “This year also marked the launch of the Meatless Monday Malaysia initiative, a meaningful step towards sustainable living for both individuals and corporates.” MVS president Datuk Pishu Hassaram lauded VegFest for strengthening the shared commitment to a more compassionate and eco-conscious Malaysia. “The energy and response this year reaffirm that plant-based living is no longer niche, but a growing lifestyle movement.” VSM president Davina Goh chipped in: “VegFest 7.0 proved that veganism is accessible, enjoyable, and deeply connected to Malaysia’s vibrant food culture.” Gracing the occasion was Datuk Nitesh LUMPUR: VEG-HUB, Ű BY JOSHUA CHANG newsdesk@thesundaily.com

Malani, chairman of Yayasan Usahawan Malaysia and Group CEO of Enviro Group, focussed on promoting sustainable business practices in the country. Also present were key opinion leaders, including Davina Goh, Raw Chef Yin, Jennie Lim, Joyce Harn, Sangeeta Krishnasamy and Chef Julien from Le Cordon Bleu who engaged the audience with live demos and talks. Formerly known as Zesty Clickz, VEG HUB was started by Gulshan and her husband Mandeep Singh Sidhu in April 2021 as they had found it difficult to find vegetarian food and products in a single place. They got inspired to see a one-stop shop where one can find not only food but also groceries, clothes and cosmetics, thus germinating the idea of Malaysia VegFest. The event also featured awards for green achievers in the community and industries, as well as a sustainable fashion runway, music and cultural performances, and activities for families and children. A total of 36.51 kg of waste was collected in collaboration with sustainability partner Riiicycle, the largest volumes being plastic, mix plastic, mobile phones, aluminium cans and carton boxes.

Gulshan (standing, centre) and Mandeep (seated, 2nd left) with some of the partners, including former MVS president Rajkumar Sheth (standing, 3rd left), Nitesh (4th left), Pishu (6th left) and Goh (seated, left).

Food and land-use project kicks off

“The primary goal of this structured onboarding is to shorten the learning curve for our new team members,“ said a project representative. “By building a strong foundation of knowledge and networks from the outset, we enable the team to perform effectively and contribute with confidence as soon as possible.” The programme also established a framework for continuous guidance, regular check-ins and a feedback loop to support the team through its initial transition period. The Folur programme is a significant seven year, US$345 million global initiative funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and led by the World Bank. It seeks to transform the world’s food and land use systems through a global knowledge platform and 27 individual country projects. At the country level, the programme accelerates action in specific landscapes and along value chains for eight major commodities: livestock, cocoa, coffee, maize, palm oil, rice, soy, and wheat. The Malaysia project will focus on implementing these sustainable practices within the national context.

Zamakhshari presenting a worker with a certificate and reward for serving the city with excellence. Ipoh council rewards workers who keep city clean

Ű P. CHANDRA SAGARAN newsdesk@thesundaily.com

The Public Health and Municipal Services Department of the council is tasked with handling solid, household, garden and bulk waste, cleaning garbage from the council’s markets, food courts, hawkers centres, as well as sprucing up roads and clearing illegal rubbish dump sites. The employees for these tasks are picked from among the civil service assistants, vehicle drivers and supervisors. Among the criteria for the selection are that they must be in Grade H1 and not have any negative disciplinary records. They should not be absent without medical or rest leave, and report for duty on time while carrying out their tasks with excellence and as approved by the department’s evaluation panel. Last month, five employees received the rewards from Zamakhshari at an event held at Zon Buntong Store on September 25. They were Shahril Izwan Mohd Nazri and Othman Harun from Pusat Bandar Zone, Michael Raymond Julias (Buntong Zone), Mohd Firdaus Mohamad (Cherry Zone) and Fatimah Ismail (Unit Task Force). The council hopes the rewards would serve as a catalyst to boost the spirit to work harder and at the same time create healthy competition to provide excellent services for the well-being of the people.

IPOH: The Ipoh City Council regards employees on the field whose task is to keep the city clean and beautiful as the backbone of the efficient services provided to residents. With this in mind, the council picks five employees who have excelled at the job in their respective zones every month. They are given rewards in the form of RM100 each, to be deposited into their bank accounts, as well as a certificate of appreciation. The gesture is additionally meaningful to the recipients as their names and pictures would be displayed at strategic spots in the council’s offices and public places. The idea to reward the employees came from Mayor Zamakhshari Hanipah who hopes to inspire and motivate them in their job. This is especially because they undertake sensitive and critical tasks related to core services that ensure the city remains comfortable and beautiful. According to a statement by the council, the move honours and recognises their excellent services to ensure cleanliness, prosperity and well being of the city and its denizens.

Speakers and participants at the project team orientation held recently in Sandakan.