Kuala Lumpur, 4 June 2020 – In the hopes of brightening our medical frontliners’ long and stressful shifts, a one-year old startup thought of something special to help during the coronavirus pandemic: fresh coffee from self-service machines. These machines were delivered to the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang and Sungai Buloh Hospital providing fresh coffee to frontliners for free.
The coffee machines were successfully put into operation since 14 April and have served more than 10,000 cups of fresh coffee to the frontliners. The coffee from these coffee machines are not only freshly brewed but also safe – the machine is unmanned and works with no human-to-human contact.
The unmanned “Coffee ATM” as it formally called is a completely automated machine. After user selected drink on the touchscreen panel, a sequence of steps runs entirely automatically, from cup selection to coffee brewing to dispensing. This process without human intervention or touching, guarantees health and safety, observing social distancing as opposed to traditional barista machines.
It started after being transformed into a quarantine and treatment centre for 600 patients, MAEPS as a caring host for wanting to do extra and showing a small act of kindness to our frontliners – they have met incredibly generous small businesses who have made their dreams a reality.
“Our frontliners who are courageously and selflessly serving the nation in the coronavirus crisis represent the best of who we are,” said MAEPS Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Zaidi Shahrim. “We are honoured to support this initiative by partnering, Coffee Star, to provide the heroes in our communities fresh coffees to recharge.”
“We are immensely grateful to our health care heroes for the dedication they demonstrate every day to help our city heal, and while no words or acts are sufficient to express the depth of our gratitude, we’d like to show them our thanks through this small act of kindness,“ he added.
During this crisis, we have seen so many examples of frontliners working around the clock in the most challenging circumstances, sacrificing their family time during Ramadan and Hari Raya for the greater good to keep our communities safe. A cup of fresh coffee is not only a useful and refreshing drink for medical staff but also lends a sense of spiritual warmth.
Meanwhile, Dr Kuldip Kaur A/P Prem Singh, Sungai Buloh Hospital Director said the fresh coffee donation will be a welcomed relief for the hundreds of medical staff in our hospital enduring long hours under challenging circumstances. “We are in uncharted territory, we are so thankful for this kind of compassion and caring initiative, it has never been more welcome.”
“In these trying times, it can be comforting to know that we’re in this together, and hope that this campaign inspires others to give back in any way they can and remember that even the smallest acts of kindness can have a significant impact”, she added.
According to Coffee Enthusiastic Officer (CEO) of Coffee Star Malaysia, Raja Ahmad Fauzan bin Raja Hassan. “We have tremendous admiration for all of the frontliners fighting in this unprecedented time. When we heard that they needed an energy booster to help them through their long days, we were eager to help.”
“We experience the impact of coronavirus directly throughout our business locations in airports, shopping malls and office towers. So, we are redeploying our machines from those locations and utilised for a greater good to serve fresh, free coffee to the frontliners. The machine serves fresh coffee on-demand at the right moment they need it.”
“We are honoured to extend our Coffee ATM machines for their usage during this crucial time. Our frontliners have been our nation’s heroes through this pandemic; we are humbled by their service and simply trying to do what we can to provide comfort to them during this time,” he said.
