Green Zone Competition to empower community in fight against COVID-19

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today launched the COVID-19 Green Zone Community Competition which is aimed at empowering and galvanising urban and rural communities in the fight against COVID-19.

Muhyiddin said the competition, whose secretariat is the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), would be spearheaded by the Housing and Local Government Ministry for the urban community category and the Rural Development Ministry for the rural category.

He said the government had allocated RM1.7 million in prizes for the competition themed "Komuniti Perkasa, Negara Sejahtera" (Empowering Community for Country's Well-being), that is RM50,000 in the form of development projects to be awarded to COVID-19 Green Zone communities selected as winners.

"Twenty winners will be picked in the rural category and 14 winners in the urban category," he said when launching the competition here.

At the ceremony, Muhyiddin handed a mock cheque for RM1 million to Rural Development Minister Datuk Dr Abd Latiff Ahmad and one for RM700,000 to Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin for running the competition.

Muhyiddin said the urban community contest would cover strata title flats and apartments, while the rural community category would involve traditional villages, longhouses and villages of Orang Asal.

He said the competition would not only encourage communities to make a culture of the new normal but also empower them to join hands with the government to fight the pandemic and make the community virus free.

Urging people to participate in the competition, Muhyiddin said: "InsyaAllah (God willing), all the pain, commitment and efforts of leaders and community members in their respective areas to eradicate the COVID-19 threat can be translated and appreciated through this competition.

He said the development projects for winners include upgrading of community recreation areas, renovation of community suraus, building of community libraries and other suitable community projects.

-- BERNAMA