KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 — Some 200,000 people are targeted to participate in Hari Cuci Malaysia (HCM) 2026 nationwide, with 28,000 kilogrammes of recyclable items expected to be collected in a single day.
Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming said the targets were set to maintain the momentum of HCM, which has gained increasing public participation since its introduction in 2024.
“The target is not merely about breaking records, but reflects the breadth of public participation and the strength of the cleanliness movement that we are building together,” he told reporters after launching HCM 2026 at Pasar Taman Sri Gombak here today.
As of 9 am today, more than 95,000 people had registered online for the programme, excluding participating school students, involving 469 locations nationwide.
Nga said HCM set three Malaysia Book of Records achievements in 2024, including the largest simultaneous participation of 58,007 people, the collection of 4,645 tonnes of waste in a day and a continuous operation from 8 am to 8 pm.
Last year, the programme made history again with more than 100,000 people participating simultaneously, while more than 27,600 kilogrammes of used cooking oil were collected in a single day, setting a record for the largest collection of used cooking oil.
For the first time this year, the Education Ministry (MOE) is a strategic partner of HCM, involving 10,000 schools nationwide.
The ministry has also recognised HCM activities under the physical fitness, sports and co-curricular assessment (PAJSK), encouraging greater participation among young people in efforts to foster a culture of cleanliness.
Nga said the government was also strengthening the solid waste management agenda through the 9R approach: Refuse, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Remanufacture, Repurpose, Recycle and Recover.
He stressed that efforts to instil a culture of cleanliness should begin at school to encourage responsible use of resources.
HCM is also part of the Madani Government’s public cleaning reform agenda, including the implementation of Community Service Orders for littering offences from January this year.
“As of National Day this year, 15,678 compounds or cleaning offence notices had been issued, while 599 individuals had been ordered by the courts to carry out cleaning work, including sweeping roads, cleaning drains and toilets,” he said.
Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 shopping centres nationwide are required to provide recycling collection facilities from this year to ensure valuable resources can be recovered and reused.
Nga said maintaining cleanliness was not solely the responsibility of the authorities but required the participation of the entire community to keep Malaysia clean and prosperous. — Bernama
