The Ministry of Education (MOE)’s Supplementary Food Programme (RMT) that is dedicated to feeding students from low-income families has found itself in the spotlight again for the wrong reason.
According to a tweet by Astro Awani journalist Izwar Wahid, he claimed that students from a national school in Pahang received a paltry portion of food under the RMT programme.
He also shared a picture of the food, where it was two bite-sized worth of noodles topped with some vegetables.
(This is) the RMT Menu (for) July 6 at one of the SK in Pahang. To be specific, it’s near the railway that is so ‘rapuh’ (fragile). Price hike kot.
Izwar also tagged the official Twitter account of the MOE and its minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin in the tweet to hopefully get their attention on the matter.
RMT menu 6/7/22 at one of the SK in Pahang. To be specific near railway that is so ‘rapuh’ [yg faham faham yang tak faham buat buat faham]. Price hike kot. @RadziJidin @KemPendidikan pic.twitter.com/ChjPJ463bI
— Izwar AWANI (@izwarwahid) July 6, 2022
In a follow-up tweet, Izwar added that the school principal and district education office had warned the canteen owner over the portion but no changes have been made so far.
‘Looks like leftovers!’
Izwar’s tweet has since received over 2.2k likes and over 3k retweets at press time, with many condemning the canteen owner for providing such pitiful portions for students.
“We have 70 (ministers) in ministry, tallest tower, tallest twin tower, food paradise and this is what we feed our future generations?”
“My neighbour’s cat eats better than this.”
“If they told me it was a picture of leftovers, I’ll believe without a doubt”
“For us who are hoping the best for our schoolchildren, the menu and its portion are rather disappointing. We are failing our future generation.”
The tweet also caught the attention of the All Women’s Action Society (AWAM), an NGO committed to gender equality, where it slammed the MOE for failing to provide access to nutritious meals for students.
Not the first time
In January of this year, the RMT programme was criticised over the portion after a netizen shared that her nephew’s lunch was just plain rice and curry gravy.
In response to the said post, Dr Radzi promised that the MOE will be looking into the case.
I take the allegations seriously and direct that further investigations be made, including identifying the schools involved.
Radzi also wrote that the ministry will not compromise in matters relating to the welfare of students.
It’s unrelated to the article but here’s our brand-new podcast – Talk Je Lah!