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COVID-19 in Malaysia: Best practice of construction workers’ accommodation

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Kuala Lumpur, 11 February 2021 – The issue of construction workers’ accommodation in Malaysia has gained a lot of public attention as it has caused major COVID-19 transmission.

Because the activities on-site are considered temporary, most contractors do not provide proper accommodation for their workers. Oftentimes, the provision is not even earmarked in the tender cost.

Read: COVID-19 in Malaysia: CIDB to find temporary accommodation for construction workers

However, a recent inspection of the construction site shows that there are contractor companies such as Karya Prospek (M) Sdn Bhd who actually adhered to the Minimum Standards of Housing, Accommodation and Employee Facilities 1990 (Act 446).

The workers’ accommodation provided by this company has also been approved by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and Department of Manpower (JTK).

Karya Prospek (M) Sdn Bhd, which is the main contractor of the Axon Bukit Bintang project, uses modular construction concept for its adaptable workers accommodation. This allows for flexibility to adjust the construction based on the number of employees, size and location of projects.

The temporary accommodation is equipped with toilets, running water and sufficient ventilation. It is built on-site to reduce the workers’ movement in and out of construction site and, therefore, minimise the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

The inspection to the construction site was led by the Senior Minister of Works, Dato ‘Sri Haji Fadillah Yusof, and also accompanied by the CEO of CIDB Malaysia, Datuk Ir. Ahmad ‘Asri Abdul Hamid; Director of CIDB Federal Territory, Zainora Zainal; and Director of JTK Peninsular Malaysia Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Che Mohd Rokman Bin Che Awang.

The briefing on the accommodation inspection was attended by the Executive Chairman of Karya Prospek (M) Sdn Bhd, Datuk Tee Eng Ho; and his Executive Director, Tee Eng Seng.

– Construction+ Online

Source: CIDB