KOTA BHARU, May 29 (Bernama) — Complaints about clogged drains, overgrown grass and neglected public spaces are often voiced loudly on social media.
But for 25-year-old Mohd Rizal Amin Soria, scrolling past those complaints was never enough.
Instead, he picked up a grass cutter.
What began as a small self-funded effort with a few close friends has grown into a quiet but determined grassroots movement to keep his hometown clean and well-maintained – one street, one drain, one park at a time.
Operating under the Hiyaz Community initiative, Mohd Rizal and his friends started out simply.
They used whatever equipment they could afford, mainly a single grass-cutting machine, to clear overgrown weeds along walkways, bus stations and public parks.
“We just wanted to make the surroundings look better. At first, it was just us, without any funding, doing whatever we could,” he told Bernama recently.
There were no cameras at the beginning, no sponsorships, and no expectation of recognition. Just a handful of young people spending their nights and weekends doing physical work that most people would walk past.
But as their efforts were shared on social media, something changed. Videos of the group cutting grass and cleaning public areas began to circulate widely, drawing attention and eventually support.
Donations followed, including tools like water jets and additional equipment that allowed them to expand their work.
With better resources, their scope widened. They began clearing clogged drains, trimming trees, repainting public facilities and responding to community complaints flagged by residents.
And then, they started getting ‘complaints’ from residents from areas that were alleged to have not been maintained for a long time or were still awaiting action from the local authority (PBT).
Still, Mohd Rizal is clear about what the Hiyaz Community is and what it is not.
“We are not here to replace anyone or to point fingers. We just want the city to be cleaner, safer and more pleasant for everyone,” he said.
Behind the work is a routine that rarely stops. Mohd Rizal, who works full-time as a graphic designer, often spends his nights and weekends on clean-up runs.
To date, the group has completed close to 100 small-scale projects across Kota Bharu.
For him, the motivation is deeply personal. His late mother, he says, was someone who believed in helping others without hesitation, a lesson that still guides him today.
“She always told me not to just look at problems and do nothing. That stayed with me,” he said quietly.
What drives him now is not recognition or online attention, but something simpler: the sight of a cleaner street, a cleared drain, and a community that can move through its daily life a little more comfortably than before.
— BERNAMA