To Follow or Not to Follow: Can Government’s Regulations Determine the Students’ Environmental Friendly Behaviour?
Science and technology have evolved since the day that Sir Isaac Newton discovered Newton’s Law on Gravity. Its rapid development requires something precious to be sacrificed; nature. Nowadays, environmental issues such as pollution and environmental degradation have been widely discussed and they become a major concern for certain countries, especially the developing nations. Due to the concern, government regulations become significance to determine people’s behaviour towards protecting nature, especially among the tertiary students. This study, therefore, answered the concern, in which 132 students from a public university in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan have answered the related questionnaires. By looking at the Pearson’s Correlation result, it seems that government regulations can determine the students’ environmental-friendly behaviour. All and all, the tertiary students are those who have the knowledge more than the others, and their understanding on what is right and what is wrong can be determined by a set of rules and laws provided by the government. From this study, it can certainly assist the government and university staff to develop students sense of love and being protective towards Mother Nature via developing suitable programmes and encouraging them to set up environmental-based activities in the university. Besides, this study is hopefully able to raise awareness among students and the public on treating the Mother Nature well and at the same time, be responsible for their actions, such as segregating their waste and turning off the air-conditioner/fan when it is not used.