The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in disruptions in many sectors in Malaysia causing some to close down, including kindergartens, schools, and universities. Currently, most sectors have reopened in the country since 24th June 2020. One of the initiatives of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Perak Branch lecturers was to facilitate that the standard operating procedures (SOP) get complied with by the education sector. In this line, UiTM collaborated with Medical Relief Society Malaysia (MERCY), Malaysia in providing handwashing kiosks for Malaysian schools. Ar. Azman Zainonabidin, Sr. Syed Abdul Haris Syed Mustapa and Dr. Dzulkarnaen Ismail, lecturers from Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying (FSPU) were involved in this small but significant project.
The project is a fast track program, as each kiosk had to be constructed and be completed within a week. The Phase 1 program launch involved 30 schools throughout Malaysia: 10 schools in Perak and two (2) schools for each state in Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak. SMK Seri Iskandar and SK Seri Iskandar, Perak, became the pilot schools to construct the hand wash kiosk.
The cost of each handwashing kiosk is RM6,000 (USD1,500) and was subsidized by Maybank. The handwashing kiosk acted as the first point for the students and teachers to clean their hands and facilitate frequent washing before they entered their classes. Ar. Azman, who led the design process, said that it was produced in less than 24 hours. “The sketch was done in 5 minutes, then we come out with 3D sketch-up in 2 hours and lastly produced working drawings within 6 hours”. Sr. Syed Abdul Haris led tender documents and cost within 8 hours, and next, Dr. Dzulkarnaen led the project management. “The construction took only five days to complete. “We did not charge any consultancy fees, and the cost of a kiosk was paid directly to the contractor. It’s time to give back to the community,” added Ar. Azman.
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This project should be a bit of relief, especially among teachers and parents who were very worried about the virus and the possibility of the infection spreading among the students and their children. The project left a significant impact on the community in terms of safety and health. Providing a fixed physical structure depicts a noble solution to ensure that the school community complied with SOP. It is hoped that this effort would inspire more stakeholders and organizations to provide the people’s physical needs besides financial contributions and expertise. The initiative is also in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) No. 3 and SDG No. 11, to ensure good health, safety, well-being, and sustainable resilience.
