Japanese Man Helped Clean Up 4,500 Cigarette Butts Littered Around Putrajaya

The man, who goes by Nana on Twitter, posted a photo on Tuesday, 26 May, showing the piles of discarded cigarette waste he managed to pick up around the Ayer@8 shopping district in Precinct 8.

"So many cigarette butts littered everywhere," he wrote with a crying face emoji.

He then explained in Bahasa Malaysia that he had joined Trash Hero Putrajaya in January and collected that large amount of trash with other volunteers in a mere one and a half hours.

The environmentalist group posted that cigarette butts were the most common type of rubbish they found during that first clean-up of the year.

They reported that 30 volunteers, including Nana, had collected a total of 21kg of trash that day left by irresponsible citizens.

He wrote that he enjoys doing charity work in Malaysia and learning the national language.

He had volunteered for another clean-up with Trash Hero Putrajaya sometime in February where they picked up a whopping 202kg worth of rubbish at Gem In Mall, Cyberjaya before the Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented.

"In two hours, we picked up 202kg of rubbish including bottles, cigarette butts, and more," he tweeted in fluent Bahasa Malaysia.

However, since the MCO began, Trash Hero Putrajaya has halted all clean-ups for the safety of their volunteers.

"A Japanese man is picking up cigarette butts after you. Can't you throw them away properly after you're done smoking?" questioned a Twitter user.

Another user asked, "Why do Malaysians have the mentality of 'it's just a small piece of rubbish, nobody will see it anyway'?"

While this user replied, "I think the problem is that people think it's okay to litter since their rubbish will be picked up by cleaners."

"Malaysians should instil the mindset of 'I have to throw away my own garbage' from a young age."