Malaysian teen picks up trash for his own birthday during the CMCO
Teen picks up trash for 23 days to celebrate birthday
Image adapted from: @hazmi_nabil_, @hazmi_nabil_ & @hazmi_nabil_
It’s safe to say that we all love birthdays – no one can say no to desserts or being around people you love after all. So while toilet roll cakes have cropped up during the Movement Control Order (MCO) to keep the fun going for birthday boys and girls at this time, the present ban on gatherings has been hitting a pause on all celebrations.
Malaysian teen Hazmi Nabil is one of those who had to give up on celebrating his 18th birthday on 23rd May 2020. But instead of waiting for the COVID-19 pandemic to tide over before throwing a party, he pledged to pick up trash in his neighbourhood for 23 days to commemorate it – and he’s been doing it for 5 days straight now.
Teen celebrates birthday by picking up trash
Hazmi shared his pledge on his Twitter account on 23rd May. In the now-viral Twitter post, he said that he’s celebrating his birthday but that he can’t have a party because of the CMCO.
So he decided to challenge himself to pick up trash in Klang Valley for 23 days instead in the hopes of spreading good vibes even if the gesture is just “small work”.
He has been updating his Twitter account since then, with short stories and photos from his trash-picking adventures. And some pretty funny finds are emerging from it, with half of his trash bag filled with firework debris from Hari Raya celebrations on his 2nd day of clean-up efforts.
Hazmi seen picking trash on Day 2 of his pledge
Image adapted from: @hazmi_nabil_
Hazmi shared that he was busy picking up cigarette butts and boxes on Day 3, and that there was “thankfully a lot of trash to pick” even though he arrived on location late. And he even found 3 handphones while clearing trash on the roadside on Day 4.
While he said that he lost his spectacles, he managed to power through on Day 5 and fill up 2 large plastic bags with trash too. He even found an old wardrobe and rotan chairs to dispose of.
Some of Hazmi’s finds while trash picking, including old furniture and phones.
Image adapted from: @hazmi_nabil_ & @hazmi_nabil_
In an interview with Rojak Daily, he shared that this isn’t the first time that he’s been taking care of the environment by picking up litter. He’s been doing it for over a year in his Bangi neighbourhood now. Several residents in his community have even started to recognise him and cheer him on whenever they see him.
Netizens show their support for dedicated teen
Hazmi’s updates from his trash-picking adventures on Twitter have been gaining online attention as well. His birthday pledge on 23rd May to pick up trash has now garnered over 15,000 likes at the time of writing.
Many netizens came out to cheer him on, with Twitter user @nurinsyazwanaa wishing him a belated “Happy birthday” and saying: “It’s a very noble thing to pick up trash continuously in this way. Salute to all [the] workers too that do the same thing every day.”
Image adapted from: @nurinsyazwanaa
Several netizens also showed their support of his pledge, with Twitter user @kamaruchan69 asking, “How do I join or support you?” Another user @izhamhakimi also went as far as to say: “Greetings bro. Reveal your location. Where are you going? If it’s nearby, I’ll join you.”
Image adapted from: @izhamhakimi
Some even called him a hero, with Twitter user @afiq_zainudinnn tweeting: “Real heroes do not always wear capes. Sometimes they bring garbage plastic with them.”
Image adapted from: @afiq_zainudinnn
Teen pledges to pick up trash for 23 days to celebrate birthday
We’ve recently seen how improper disposal of trash harms the environment and wildlife, with a Malaysian man having to help a poor monitor lizard remove a tin can stuck on its head.
So we’re all applauding Hazmi’s pledge to pick up trash for 23 days to celebrate his birthday, and we wish him all the best in his noble endeavours.
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