Hari Cuci Malaysia: Together We Cleaned, Cared, and Celebrated Our Common Home

By Rosalind Michael

It was an early start for us on Saturday, 27th September—alarms buzzing, sleepy smiles, and excited chatter as we gathered with our church friends. By 5:45 AM we were on the road to Pantai Cahaya Negeri, Port Dickson, the drive filled with laughter and the joy of heading to something meaningful together.

We arrived around 7:45 AM, registered, and squeezed in a quick breakfast before the real work began. With gloves on and hearts ready, we joined hundreds of others on the sandy shore to clean our beach. We were privileged to join hands with the Archdiocesan Office for Human Development (AOHD) and the Archdiocesan Creation Justice Ministry together with several others from ArchKL parishes, led by Rev. Fr. Andrew Manickam —working alongside families, and children in a beautiful show of community spirit.

Side by side, we picked up plastics, wood, paper, dry leaves and other rubbish—every bag filled felt like a small victory for creation. By midday the cleanup wrapped up and we enjoyed a simple picnic lunch by the now-cleaner beach, sharing food, stories, and the gentle sea breeze as a reward for our morning’s work.

A proud highlight was seeing our children interviewed on TV3’s Malaysia Hari Ini, confidently talking about why caring for the environment matters. Knowing our children going to be on TV warmed our hearts and reminded us that this stewardship is something we pass on to the next generation.

And if that wasn’t enough, the day also made national history! Together with communities across the country, Hari Cuci Malaysia broke two Malaysian Book of Records (MBOR):

1) Largest Gotong-Royong: 100,817 participants across 181 locations nationwide
2) Most Used Cooking Oil Collected: 27,679.31 kg (worth RM79,684.56) from 10 states

Alongside that, an astounding 6,462 tonnes of trash was cleared from beaches, riversides, and public spaces—plastics, wood, paper, textiles and more.

We returned home tired but deeply joyful—knowing we had been part of something both historic and meaningful, bonded by faith and a love for our common home.

Together with AOHD, we made a difference—and created memories we will treasure as a church family.