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A video of a student celebrating the end of his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations by throwing his books into a river recently went viral
One particular Facebook video posted by Info Roadblock JPJ/Polis on 5 March garnered over 250,000 views and almost 3,000 comments.
The video received a lot of backlash, with netizens criticising the teenager for littering and for having no respect for his textbooks.
The Ministry of Environment and Water (KASA) has since requested the cooperation of the public to track down the student
However, it was not to reprimand him.
In a Facebook post made on Monday, 8 March, the ministry said, “If anyone knows this brother, KASA would like to invite him to become a member of Sahabat Sungai Malaysia (Friends of Rivers Malaysia).”
They extended an invitation to the teenager to join a programme that aims to clean rivers across the country in conjunction with World Water Day on 22 March.
“Hopefully, with education and community support, not only this student, but many others will be more considerate about the cleanliness of our rivers,” they said.
Netizens praised the ministry for taking an educational approach with the teenager and hoped they find him soon
“Yes, instead of penalising, let them see how dirty our rivers are and know how important our rivers are to us. Educate the younger generations if their parents failed to educate them,” commented a Facebook user.
Another user said, “Just completed SPM and straight get to work with the Department of Environment. That’s the best.”
Meanwhile, another netizen reminded students to not simply throw their borrowed textbooks away after their exams or they may face a fine.
“Don’t forget you may need to pay a fine, later you can’t take your SPM slip. You can start saving up now. This is a teacher’s sincere message. Don’t bother your parents to pay the fine,” they said.
