KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 — Parents and teachers of over a million pupils in Malaysia can have peace of mind thanks to Carlsberg Malaysia’s contribution of handheld thermometers and disinfection services to over 1,400 Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools nationwide.
The initiative, called Safer Schools, was kicked off by the brewer to ensure that the schools that were located within Covid-19 red zones during the movement control order (MCO) had the necessary support for re-opening.
Prior to the schools reopening starting June 24, all eligible schools received over 3,100 handheld thermometers.
The brewer also disinfected about 670,000sqm of classrooms, facilities and common areas before classes resumed.
Carlsberg Malaysia managing director Stefano Clini said in a statement that this year’s unprecedented impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and prolonged social distancing measures have created a lot of uncertainty for the community.
“Since we announced the Safer Schools campaign in April, the enthusiastic responses, encouraging words and positive reviews we received from schools and consumers reinforced that our contribution is a purposeful and impactful one.
“We’re grateful the Safer Schools campaign has provided peace of mind to parents and teachers of more than a million schoolchildren.”.
Clini also hoped that the contribution to the schools would help keep students’ safety in check, while keeping infections at bay.
SMJK Confucian Kuala Lumpur principal Wong Kum Ming expressed her gratitude for the initiative and said the school’s priority was disinfecting the most frequented classrooms and toilets, while the donated thermometers were a great help to monitor students’ temperatures at school entrances.
“Thanks to the campaign’s contribution, parents were confident to send their children to school.
“We achieved a 95 per cent attendance rate on the first two days of classes when schools reopened on 24 June, while our teaching staff felt safe starting work after our school compound had been sanitised.”
The campaign also extended across Sabah and Sarawak with 266 beneficiary schools across both states receiving a total contribution value of RM167,000 in thermometers and disinfection services for high-risk schools, benefitting an estimated 139,000 students.
SJK(C) Wah Man principal Liaw Sui Cheng from Sarikei was also thankful to receive the much-needed thermometers to assist them in their daily screening of 370 pupils and teachers.
The campaign is part of the brewer’s Safer Together initiatives that also benefit customers and consumers, including aid for business recovery for food and beverage outlets most affected by the MCO.
