THE SHOW MUST GO ON
Frontliners who provide essential services to keep things going
DURING the initial movement control order (MCO) phase, most of us were safe at home, and if we had to go out for a grocery run, we took all precautions such as wearing a face mask and keeping a distance from one another.
Frontline workers didn’t have a choice.
While doctors and nurses as the first liners engaged the enemy directly, the second and third liners carried on with their jobs – keeping spaces clean, ensuring people have food to buy, delivering packages and groceries, among the many activities that kept things going.
The pandemic has certainly brought a whole new routine to the cleaners at Residensi Vyne in Kuala Lumpur who keep the premises clean from 8am to 5pm every day.
Supervisor Shaidul Islam says that in accordance to standard operation procedure set by the Government, the team of 14 cleaners starts their day with face masks and sanitisers, and each person is assigned a bottle of disinfectant solution.
“Common areas are disinfected twice a day while the furniture, door handles and lifts at the lobby are cleaned with disinfectant solution up to four times daily.
“Those tasked to clean the garbage area will be required to put on elbow-length gloves, in addition to the face masks.
“We try our very best to keep every corner of the premises clean for the safety of everyone and we also appreciate the residents working together to keep the compound in good shape,” he says.
Shaidul says the cleaners are grateful to their employer for providing sufficient supply of face masks, sanitisers and gloves so that they can carry out their essential work in this current situation with low risk.
For Siti Nurbidayu Adrus, a cashier at Mydin USJ Hypermarket in Subang Jaya, Selangor, working remotely from home does not apply to her.
“As much as we need to adapt to the situation, we also need to be extra swift in our work in order to cut down the queue’s waiting time.
“Most importantly, people in the checkout line need to maintain physical distancing.
As for us cashiers, we take extra safety measures by sanitising our hands after servicing each customer and also clean and sanitise our counters from time to time.
“We wear face masks all the time and we will also advise customers to wear one as well,” she says.
As a frontliner, she has concerns about the risks in dealing with customers every day at the wholesale and retail hypermarket.
“I believe every job has its own risks, and I’m really thankful to Mydin for taking good care of our wellbeing and providing us with the highest standards of safety.
“I hope that customers will continue to extend their cooperation by following the SOP and take care of each other. We’re all in this together. As the saying goes, #kitajagakita,” she adds.
Meanwhile, Kembara Kitchen initially focused on catering and project-based groceries distributions but when the MCO was implemented, groceries distribution became its sole focus.
“While we were distributing up to 1,000 care packs daily, we were also sending hot meals and PPE to the police, Fire and Rescue Department and hospitals. As catering was allowed, these activities were our main focus for about 70 days.
“As we were required to go out and about, all who attended our programmes were required to register, had their temperature taken and wore face masks,” says Kembara Kitchen co-founder Chan Yi-Lyn.
Currently with the RMCO, Kembara Kitchen has resumed its catering business.
“As business has been slow, we have to organise fundraising activities to generate income to sustain our operations.
“Kembara Farm is a community farming programme to grow ingredients such as lavender and mint to produce potpourri to generate income, while the rest of the land is used to plant vegetables. The vegetables, when ready to be harvested, will be given away to those who need it for free.
“At the same time, through Kembara Community Care Centre (K3C), we are still supplying groceries to those in need while working with other NGOs to share our resources. We are also in the midst of preparation to deploy flood relief,” she says.
Chan’s hope is for all of us to come together to play our role in breaking the chain of infection, and embracing the new norm by practising good hygiene and following the SOP.