Basic HTML Version
Interview with Stakeholders
of the WATER Project:
Communities See Impact
of River Rehabilitation
Our role was to assist in engaging the community
living along the river to become involved in the
project. When the GAB Foundation first proposed
this to us, we thought it would be impossible.
It is not easy. We had to work hard to convince
the community that it is possible to achieve
improvements.
In the first year, we did a lot of consultation
with the community. We had to identify the
right person to work with – the rukun tetangga.
We wanted to work with everybody and all the
races. From the feedback we received in the first
year, not many communities were convinced
about our plans.
HOW D I D YOU PROC E E D?
After we had engaged the community to get
their consent, we needed to ensure that they
had the right skills. We started with training and
education. They built on that to develop their
skills in order to take localised action. They then
drew up a concept paper on what they wanted to
do for the area and the support needed.
WHAT WE R E SOME O F T H E
MA I N CHA L L E NG E S ?
Many in the community were sceptical of GAB,
because it produces alcohol. We had to overcome
this and show them that GAB was serious
about the project. It has helped that this is a
community-based project and the direct contact
is the GAB Foundation, rather than the Company.
WHAT AR E T H E I MPAC T S
O F T H E PROJ E C T ?
The project is now run 100% by the communities
and benefits almost 15,000 people. Previously,
the area was in a very bad condition. People didn’t
even know that it was a river, rather than a drain.
Other projects had tried to do something about
the problem without much success, but after the
GAB Foundation project, the improvements were
obvious. Before, there were complaints about the
GAB brewery polluting the river but we no longer
hear this. The community now seems to think
twice about throwing rubbish into the river, since
they know the work involved in cleaning it up.
WHAT MOR E CAN T H E GAB
F OUNDAT I ON DO ?
We would like to see more participation from the
employees of GAB. Of course, more funding would
also help to increase activities. At the moment we
are finding alternative uses for waste collected
along the river, such as selling newspaper waste,
and the collection of used cooking oil, which is
turned into soaps and candles. It would be good if
GAB could assist in selling these. At the moment,
GAB is the only company along the river involved
in the project, and it would be good if they could
help to get other companies to participate.
About the stakeholders
Encik Azli Abu Bakar has led the WATER
project since April 2008. He has extensive
experience in a range of river restoration
programmes involving local communities
since 2003. His main role in the project is
to engage and facilitate local community
participation in tasks and activities in line
with the goals of the WATER Project.
Encik Mohd Zaini is a local resident of Desa
Mentari and has actively participated in the
project since 2008. He has led the group
to develop other local initiatives such as
composting and candle-soap making from
the collection of used cooking oil. Under his
leadership, the Sungai Way community won
the nation’s Best Community Award by the
Department of Irrigation and Drainage at the
River Ranger Jamboree 2010.
G U I N N E S S A N C H O R B E R H A D
( 5 3 5 0 - X )
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