Mayor takes lead in tree-planting ceremony in conjunction with PJ Half

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IN CONJUNCTION with the 24th instalment of the PJ Half Marathon, Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman led a tree-planting ceremony in the vicinity of the Petaling Jaya Stadium in Kelana Jaya.

Also present at the ceremony were Petaling Jaya deputy mayor Puasa Md Taib, Star Publications (M) Berhad chief events officer Iris Tan and representatives from Selangor Amateur Athletics Association (SAAA). The PJ Half Marathon is organised by The Star, Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) and the Selangor Amateur Athletics Association.

The platinum sponsor for the run is Genneva Syariah and the main sponsors are ICI Paints Malaysia, Sports Toto, AmBank Group, Milo, 100 Plus and Andaman Property Management.

Green hands: Mohamad Roslan (fifth from right) at the tree-planting ceremony in conjunction with the PJ Half Marathon in Petaling Jaya. With him are (from left) Andaman Property Management sales manager Patty Lim, Nestle sports marketing executive Lim Kerwin, AmBank Group public affairs group head Syed Anuar Syed Ali, F&N Beverages marketing event and sponsorship regional manager Muhammad Fauzi Ahmad, Genneva Malaysia Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Tan Liang Keat, MBPJ Zone 1 councillor Syed Abdul Malik A. Hamid Al Jafree, MBPJ councillor Megat Iskandar Megat Ahmad Sufian, Sports Toto Malaysia sales and marketing deputy general manager David Chong Kah Yow, Star Publications chief events officer Iris Tan, ICI Paints (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd managing director CW Goh and Star Publications advertising and business development senior manager Chua Chee Beng.

After the first tree is planted in conjunction with the marathon, subsequent plants will be planted by MBPJ in the vicinity of Petaling Jaya based on the number of runners registered with the marathon. There were 4,500 runners this year.

“With this year’s theme ‘Run for A Greener PJ’, the tree-planting initiative is a good sign for us to give something back to the environment. In western countries they have sculptures for remembrance, whereas we have trees,” said Roslan. He added that next year, the PJ Half Marathon would be held earlier. “We hope to have it sometime in June.”

Meanwhile, Tan said it was symbolic for the first of the 4,500 plants to be planted at the stadium vicinity. “The organisers and sponsors made a pledge that for every runner who runs the marathon, we will plant one plant in our bid for going green,” she said.