Abang Johari does his part during the World Clean-up Day campaign.

KUCHING: Residents here have been called on to have a spirit of accountability and responsibility for the city’s cleanliness.

Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) declaration of Kuching as a healthy city must be preserved.

“The question is how are you going to sustain it? That is the problem. When we have been declared as a healthy city, can we sustain that status?

“It all depends on the Kuching citizens, whether we can sustain that standard or not,” he said when launching World Clean-up Day yesterday.

Abang Johari said he is generally happy with residents of traditional Malay villages in the heart of the city for helping to keep Kuching clean and healthy.

“That is why we see the water in the Sarawak River is clean. If they have continued with the culture of throwing rubbish into the river, we would not be able to see a clean Sarawak River like this.

“To maintain the city’s standard, we have to transform the urban villages, not only the way of life but also the facilities. So far, it has been good,” he said.

The Chief Minister said cleanliness should not be confined to the physical but also include being spiritually clean.

“If we have spiritual cleanliness then we can understand the people we talk to; there is no feeling of vengeance and hatred.

“If everyone has no feeling of vengeance against each other, we will be able to create not only physical cleanliness but also spiritual cleanliness,” he said.

Abang Johari added Sarawakians generally have a high level of understanding of each other’s cultures and beliefs, and hopes this would always be preserved.

“I think the future is great for the future generation because we are working for tomorrow not for us now. What we are doing today is for the future generation,” he said.

Among those present were Petra Jaya member of parliament Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof and State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani.