There is a food kiosk at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) like no other. Students can get food from there and decide whether to pay nothing for it, pay at cost, or voluntarily pay above cost. The kiosk is environmentally friendly too.

The kiosk is an initiative from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. It is called AOK-GR CORNER and can be found at the cafeteria inside Abdul Rahman Limbong Residential College. In operation since 23 October this year, AOK-GR-CORNER was set up to enable less well-to-do students to eat their favorite food for free or for just little money.

“The concept of AOK-GR CORNER is ‘Pay as you like’,” said UMT Vice Chancellor Professor Dato’ Dr Nor Aieni Mokhtar, “whereby students can decide whether to pay nothing for the food and eat it for free, pay at cost, or pay more if they can afford it and wish to make some donation“.

“Ensuring the wellbeing of students is always a priority for UMT”, Professor Nor Aieni said.

There were 531 students who chose to remain on campus and off campus during the Conditional Movement Order enforced by the Malaysian government in most states including Terengganu from 9 to 21 November.

According to Professor Nor Aieni, 182 of these students are STEM Foundation students, Diploma of Fisheries students, and International students staying on campus, while the remaining 349 are students living off campus.  

“AOK-GR CORNER offers a variety of food for these students, such as toasts, egg rolls, and noodle-stuffed pancakes among others,” she said.  

According to Dr Izan Dato’ Haji Jaafar, AOK-GR CORNER coordinator, responses from students has been encouraging. The kiosk operates from 5 pm until 12 midnight and is manned by ten student volunteers.

The kiosk does not just serve food, but it trains students to be environmentally friendly too.

“Students are required to bring their own food containers,” Dr Izan said.

Dr Izan said the project has been made possible through the support received from various parties. Contributions were received from UMT Student Affairs, UMT women’s club MUTIARA, UMT Sultan Mahmud Islamic Centre, UMT staff, UMT alumni, UMT students, and the public. In addition, student cooperative KOSISWA has given permission for the kiosk to operate throughout the current semester for free.

Contribution was also received from Student Food Bank Project under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

UMT’s Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, through its community project Kulat.co UMT, supplied oyster mushrooms that are deep-fried.

Since its inception last month, the AOK-GR CORNER project has achieved a bit of everything. It has allowed students to eat their favorite food at a price they decide they can afford, which maybe a prize of zero for most less well-to-do. It has also managed to train students to help save the environment by not packaging the food in nonreusable containers and requiring students to bring their own. And it has been able to reflect UMT’s heavy concerns for the wellbeing of its students, especially during tough and trying times like the current covid-19 stricken period.     

For further information, please contact

Dr Izan Dato’ Haji Jaafar
Deputy Director/AOK-GR Project Coordinator
Centre for Holistic and Co-curricular Development
Email: izanjaafar@umt.edu.my
Phone: 013-798 8634

Published by
Corporate Communication Centre
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu