20,000 mud balls for Prangin Canal

A TOTAL of 1,500 volunteers from Hope International Ministries did not mind getting their hands dirty out of their concern for Mother Nature. They went ahead to produce a record of 20,000 micro-organism mud balls in Penang. It was believed to be the biggest gathering ever for such an event. The volunteers were not only from all over Malaysia, but some even came from Singapore and Taiwan including foreign students enrolled in local colleges. Those from the foreign countries were amazed by the technology used. According to them, they had never heard or made such mud balls before. To ensure a speedy process, five mixers were used to mix the ingredients including soil and rice husk to produce what is called ‘Beneficial Indigenous’ micro-organism. he event, part of the state’s ‘Cleaner, Greener Penang’ initiative, started at 2pm at a car park near Komtar Walk. It was jointly organised by Hope Penang, the state government and both local councils here with the cooperation from Hope International Ministries. Sim, who is also the Pantai Jerejak assemblyman, said 5,000 mud balls that had already been fermented were the ones that were thrown into the nearby Prangin Canal. Sim said he was grateful to Hope for its time and effort to ensure the success of the event. The volunteers then proceeded to the canal at about 3.30pm and they had fun tossing the mud balls in. The technology is known to stop algae growth and break down sludge in ponds, lakes, rivers and drains. Video by TT Loo, edited by Jimmy Leow