Tropicana July-August 2024 #155 The Merdeka Issue

74
JULY/AUGUST 2024 TOTAL
The future of the Unique Seafood
Group of restaurants - Alex Wong
and Abby Wong
Known affectionately
as "the girl with the
tiffin," Tengku Zatashah
champions sustainable
practices by using
reusable containers at
local markets
CHAMPIONING #ZEROFOODWASTAGE
A profound concern for the environment and the
underprivileged led Tengku Zatashah to volunteer
with Kechara Soup Kitchen. Inspired by an article
revealing that Malaysians wasted 230,000 tonnes
of food during Ramadan in 2016, she initiated the
#ZeroFoodWastage campaign. This initiative, which
started with hotel partnerships, has grown to include
top hotels in the Klang Valley and Penang, rescuing
surplus food benefitting 21,000 individuals each night
during Ramadan. There was one month where the
campaign achieved saving approximately 11 tonnes of
surplus food.
Her efforts extended to supermarkets, drawing
inspiration from similar practices in France. Tesco
(now Lotuss) immediately jumped on this opportunity
to work together with Tengku Zatashah and Kechara
Soup Kitchen while, after two years of negotiations,
she also secured a partnership with Aeon, making
Malaysia the first country to receive surplus food from
Aeon's supermarkets.
participating in initiatives like the white flag campaign
during the Covid-19 lockdown, flood relief efforts as
well as distributing food to the orang asli communities,
rubber tappers and fishermen.
Her dedication to environmental sustainability is
evident through her #SayNo2Plastic campaign also
launched in 2016. This campaign has raised awareness
about plastic pollution, particularly single-use plastics,
and has led to significant behavioural changes among
Malaysians.
LEADING MALAYSIA'S GREEN INITIATIVES
At the Change Now Summit in 2020, Tengku Zatashah
had the distinct honour of representing Malaysia,
delivering two impactful talks on her initiatives
#ZeroFoodWastage and #SayNo2Plastic. This global
forum allowed her to connect with inspiring individuals,
such as Tom Szaky, CEO and co-founder of Terracycle,
and Boyan Slat, founder of Ocean Cleanup. Their
discussions centered around the innovative interceptor
technology designed to address river pollution, a topic
that is close to Tengku Zatashah’s heart.
EXPANDING HER IMPACT
Tengku Zatashah's commitment to social causes
is unwavering. She became a founding member of
Yayasan Food Bank Malaysia aiming to rescue and
distribute excess food nationwide. She regularly
collaborates with government agencies and NGOs,
Tengku Zatashah shared that in supporting the
ocean cleanup mission, Malaysia proudly hosts two
interceptors in the Klang River—unique, as no other
location globally has more than one. These interceptors,
manufactured locally in Klang by Malaysians, aim to
clean the world's dirtiest rivers, preventing pollution
To the right: True Malaysian princess Tengku
Zatashah is the image of beauty and grace as she
descends the grand staircase at Mandarin Oriental
Kuala Lumpur in a modern white two-piece suit