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Students wait for class to begin at a school in Kuala Lumpur. Some school canteens in Malaysia are seeing shortages of essential items such as sugar, chicken and eggs in addition to price rises. Photo: Bernama/dpa

Children in Malaysia face school meals of fried egg, rice and a glass of water as inflation bites

  • Rising prices in Malaysia are eating into school canteens’ ability to provide affordable, nutritious meals for schoolchildren
  • The head of Malaysia’s school canteen operators’ association has warned that some children may only be able to afford the most basic of meals
Malaysia
School canteen operators in Malaysia are calling on the government to allow them to buy ingredients at subsidised prices and for further rent exemptions in order to keep their prices low while offering affordable and nutritious meals to schoolchildren.

With the rising costs of ingredients and sometimes shortages in food items, they claim that they are struggling, especially when their prices are contractually bound by canteen tenders.

While they said they were grateful for the Education Ministry’s recently announced rent exemption, which is temporary, they also hoped additional measures could be implemented.

Malaysian School Canteen Operators Association secretary Siti Normah Md Desa suggested that canteen operators be allowed to buy subsidised cooking oil.

Chicken prices in Malaysia have reportedly jumped 32 per cent in recent weeks to US$2.57 per kilogram. Photo: Xinhua

“We are serving schoolchildren who mostly can’t afford expensive meals. Perhaps we should be allowed access to some vital ingredients at subsidised rates.

“For example, a kilo of chicken was 8.50 ringgit (US$1.93) last week, and now it has increased by another 2.80 ringgit to 11.30 ringgit (US$2.57).

“If we could buy these ingredients at a more stable or subsidised rate, it would help us a lot,” she said in an interview on Sunday.

Siti Normah urged the government to have a better rental system to allow school canteen operators to keep their operating costs low and offer better meals for schoolchildren.

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“Canteens are a vital part of schools and most operators are not there to make huge profits. It is only right that we give our schoolchildren decent and affordable meals made by qualified operators,” she said.

Siti Normah said more than 40 per cent of the association’s 10,200 members nationwide had chosen not to continue with their operation at the end of their contracts, which was blamed on increased operating costs.

“Some even resorted to hiring a ‘caretaker’ operator while waiting for their contracts to expire,” she said.

Canteen operators, she added, could not adjust prices on a whim as the price range of food, drinks and rents must adhere to what was agreed upon in the tender contract.

Pocket money of 4 ringgit is [only] enough for fried rice with a fried egg and a glass of water at most school canteens
Siti Normah Md Desa, Malaysian School Canteen Operators Association

“Each contract lasts for two years. Some schools might grant an extra year if the operator performs well,” she said.

Siti Normah also said operators who submitted their tenders in 2021 for the 2022 school year had much to lose due to the continuous price increases of ingredients.

“But for the new ones and those who continue in the new session, their tenders would have factored in the higher costs and they are able to adjust their prices,” she said.

On a news report that prices of canteen food had gone up by 50 per cent, Siti Normah said this only applied to several food items which saw a shortage earlier.

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“Only the new operators and those who continue for the tender session between December 1, 2022, and November 30, 2024, are introducing new prices. The items include roti canai, which is priced at 1.50 ringgit, up from 1 ringgit previously due to the 100 per cent increase in the prices of flour and margarine.

“Some canteens also sell fried chicken at between 1.50 ringgit and 2 ringgit now, up from 1 ringgit last year.

“Operators on previous tender contracts are still selling at the old prices,” she said, adding that canteen food was still relatively cheap and affordable.

“Pocket money of 4 ringgit is [only] enough for fried rice with a fried egg and a glass of water at most school canteens,” she said.

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She added, however, that there had been a price increase, especially for fish and vegetable dishes, for food served to teachers and school staff.

Meor Rasyid Meor Rahman, 33, who runs a school canteen in Cameron Highlands, is facing a rise in prices of goods as well as a shortages of essential items such as sugar, chicken and eggs.

“When my suppliers cannot supply the items, we have to buy from shops selling at higher retail prices,” said Meor Rasyid, who welcomed the exemption of canteen rent from January to March by the ministry.

“I hope that the exemption can be extended due to the many school holidays. In March, many school canteens will also be closed due to Ramadan.”

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Kamariah Ibrahim, 65, who is based in the Klang Valley, is hoping that the government can do more to help canteen operators.

“The challenge is we sell food at low prices according to the tender contract, but we are facing a big increase in costs from our suppliers,” she said.

This article was first published on The Star Online
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