KUALA LUMPUR: Ambassador of River of Life (ROL), Maya Karin, has urged traders to stop selling ‘lemang periuk kera’ or pitcher plant lemang as the species is getting endangered due to its high demand during the Aidilfitri festive season.
Maya Karin, who is an actress and environmental activist, expressed her frustration on the issue and advised the traders to become innovative in order to create the dish without using pitcher plants to maintain the sustainability and the ecosystem of the forests.
“I would urge them not to follow this trend because pitcher plants are hard to come by and can only be fund in the jungles. There are many treasures in the forests, not only flowers but also medicines which researchers can discover in the future but we have chopped and destroyed them.
“This is my message to traders; I really hope they will stop...but maybe we have to invent ‘fake’ pitcher plants if we want (beautiful) presentations,” she said after attending the Green Ramadan Campaign (GRC) at the Kampung Baru Ramadan Bazaar yesterday.
Earlier, Maya Karin distributed 2,500 “Aku Tak Nak Plastik” eco-friendly bags containing food containers to visitors to the bazaar before the breaking of fast at Halaman Warisan.
The event was organised by EcoKnights in partnership with ROL Public Outreach Programme to raise public awareness on the need to refuse and reduce single-use plastics in their daily lives.
The campaign was held from May 10 until May 24, 2019. — Bernama
