Standing tall: Mohd Ridhwan (seated) and pupils posing for a photo in front of the PETRONAS Twin Towers replica built with recycled plastic bottles at the school in Johor Baru.
JOHOR BARU: A group of local primary school pupils, inspired by the iconic PETRONAS Twin Towers, built a miniature replica using recycled plastic bottles.
SK Mohd Khir Johari history committee head Mohd Ridhwan Othman said about 30 of the school’s Year Four, Year Five and Year Six pupils, aided by 20 teachers, joined hands to reproduce the iconic towers.
“We used over 2,000 bottles of Yakult drink to complete our homage to the twin towers.
“The bottles, which made up the main buildings, were all recycled and would have been a waste if they were thrown away,” he said in an interview here yesterday.
The project started in late August and took the team two months to complete, he said.
Mohd Ridhwan added that the pupils were very excited when they started on the project and overjoyed when, through their hard work, the twin towers were erected.
He said the bottles were glued together and the teachers also put up small light bulbs to brighten the replica and make it look like the real thing.
The replica, placed in front of the school’s library, is frequently visited by the pupils and teachers, he said.
A majority of the project’s participants are underprivileged children who have never seen or visited the real Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur.
“As part of the history subject being taught in school, we showed them the country’s iconic buildings.
“The pupils are unaware that Malaysia is home to several of the tallest buildings in the world and through this special project, we hope it can inspire them to achieve the impossible in their lives,” he said.
Now, the children are eagerly hoping for the day they can realise their dream of seeing or visiting the world-famous landmark in the capital city.
“After completing the Twin Towers project, they are continuing to collect more used Yakult bottles to replicate other famous buildings in Malaysia such as the KL Tower and the Tun Razak Exchange,” said Mohd Ridhwan.
