Students become agents of cleanliness

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PUPILS from 10 primary schools in Puchong became “agents of cleanliness” for their own homes when they signed up for the Subang Jaya Municipal Council’s (MPSJ) “Triple A Agent” programme.

The pilot project, organised in collaboration with Columbia Asia Hospital Puchong, saw the participation of 305 Year Four and Year Five pupils.

The programme is aimed at creating awareness and educating children on dengue and how to curb the disease.

The children received prior permission from their parents before being briefed on the programme and receiving a “Triple A Agent” kit in November last year.

Winners: Asmawi (left) presenting a token representing the RM300 top prize to SJKC Yak Chee Year Six pupils Teh E Xuen (second right) and Hoo Jin Yi (right), and Student Affairs senior assistant Choon Teik Owan.

No mosquito breeding grounds were found at the pupils’ homes during checks conducted by the MPSJ secretariat from December 2010 till May.

SJKC Yak Chee emerged as the champion, followed by first runner-up SK Puchong Jaya and second runner-up SJKC Han Ming.

The schools won RM300, RM200 and RM100 respectively.

The top three winners were selected based on zero mosquito breeding grounds found and highest number of students’ participation.

MPSJ president Datuk Asmawi Kasbi said the programme was aimed at highlighting the dangers of dengue, a disease that can be fatal.

“To-date, 341 cases have been reported in areas under the MPSJ’s administration, of which 189 are positive.

“Of the 189 positive cases, 33 involved schoolchildren aged between seven and 17,” he said, adding that there were plans to expand the programme to other schools.

Columbia Asia Hospital Puchong marketing manager Ng Wai Kit said the “Triple A Agent” programme aims to educate children from young, so there is greater awareness on the dangers of the disease and how to prevent it.

“We also gave a talk at the participating schools to spread the message to all the students and teachers,” he said.

A prize presentation ceremony was also held for the MPSJ Clean School Canteen Competition 2011.

The annual competition involved 68 schools in areas under the MPSJ’s administration and was divided into two groups — primary school and secondary school.

SMK Pusat Bandar Puchong in Puchong emerged tops in the secondary school category, while SJKC Chee Wen in Subang Jaya was the champion in the primary school category.

SMK USJ 4 in Subang Jaya and SMK Section 4 Bandar Kinrara in Puchong won second and third place in the secondary school category respectively, while SK Section 2 Bandar Kinrara and SCJK Serdang Baru in Seri Kembangan were named second and third place winners in the primary school category respectively.

The champions won RM1,000 each; the second and third prize winners won RM700 and RM500 respectively.

Asmawi said the competition stressed on the cleanliness of school canteens to remind canteen operators to practise good hygiene and ensure no food poisoning cases.

“The source of food poisoning can be attributed to sub-standard food quality or bad hygiene practices,” he said.

MPSJ Health Department director Dr Roslan Mohamed Hussin noted there has been an improvement in terms of cleanliness of school canteens over the years.

“The MPSJ and Petaling District Health Office regularly monitors the cleanliness of school canteens, though the management comes under the school. The competition was held for added motivation,” he said.

“According to the Petaling District Health Office, 49 food poisoning cases occurred in the Petaling District till September 2011, 27 of which happened in the MPSJ areas.”

Dr Roslan said the MPSJ would follow up on those school canteens that had unsatisfactory cleanliness levels, and issue compounds on the operator or order a closure of the canteen for a complete clean-up if necessary.

“We may also have to report the case to the District Education Office and State Education Office,” he said.