UBD supports Earth Hour

UNIVERSITI Brunei Darussalam (UBD) is committed to supporting the Earth Hour initiative, said UBD Vice-Chancellor Dr Hj Zulkarnain Hj Hanafi during the postgraduate fair held at Chancellor Hall.

Amidst the aggressive changes that have taken place in UBD recently, another step forward has yet again been achieved by the university in terms of energy conservation.

Dr Hj Zulkarnain announced to the audience that UBD was proudly taking part in the worldwide course to "Vote For Earth" as part of the Earth Hour initiative to create awareness and tackling issues of climate change in the world.

"Apart from that, UBD would like to heighten the Earth Hour message by switching off all lights and any unnecessary electrical appliances in the university from 10am to 11am," he added.

Staff members of UBD spoke of how the awareness of energy conservation in students should be embedded as part of their curriculum as it was important for the next generation.

Dean of Students at UBD, Dr Nurulaini Pg Hj Muhd Kifli lauds this idea and said that UBD has always advocated energy conservation in the university.

"We do tell our students to switch the lights off whenever they are not in use. In some way, this might help them realise that saving light and conserving energy is important for the next generation," she said.

"Start using energy-saving lights. Perhaps in the future, we shall have more activities to strengthen the awareness, but that is up to the students' initiative if they want to do it," she said.

Assistant Registrar for the Chancellory, Kenny Liew said that with this cause, it would put UBD on the level of a world-class university.

"This is a good step forward for us, not just on the education side but also to create awareness amongst the university's community as well as the public," he said.

"I don't think Earth Hour is transparent in Brunei because some people still do not know the rationale behind it. Someone needs to highlight the main purpose behind it and we hope that UBD can advocate it," he said.

He also said that awareness in university students of Earth Hour was imperative.

"We don't just want our students to excel in educational knowledge. We want them to know about world issues, because it is their world and they are the next generation," he said.

Head of the Educational Technology Centre (ETC), Dr Hanafi Mohammad said that this action should be continuously supported and sustained.

"This shouldn't just happen today, we can at least do it every month," he said.

He also said that although some students might not be aware, he hopes this initiative will change their perception and that energy conservation will be embedded in their daily practices.

Earth Hour was internationally celebrated last night. All over the world, people switched off their lights and conserved energy for one hour to battle global warming. (SHR1)

The Brunei Times