Have more food variety for kids under RMT, urge parents

JOHOR BARU: Parents are calling for more variety of food for their children under the Supplementary Food Programme (RMT).

Yushaneylah Md Yusof said her daughter, a Year Two pupil, has been eating similar meals at her school in Pasir Gudang near here.

“My daughter, who is hearing- and speech-impaired, said she had fried noodles or fried rice almost every other day.

“Sometimes, she receives bread and a packet of milk.

“I hope the school canteen operator can prepare other dishes like fried chicken or porridge occasionally so that the children would get more nutrition,” she added.

However, the 44-year-old mother of three, who also has hearing and speech difficulties, was thankful for the RMT, saying the programme has helped to ease her family’s financial burden.

“My husband is a food delivery rider and I help out by selling homemade curry puffs. Our incomes are not stable,” said Yushaneylah, who lives at a people’s housing flat.

“I have to take care of all the children myself. The youngest is only in preschool.

“We cannot afford to send them to a daycare centre due to the high charges,” she said.

In this year’s national budget, the allocation for RMT was increased from RM625mil to RM777mil.

This is expected to increase the food aid from RM2.50 to RM3.50 per child in the peninsula and RM3 to RM4 in Sabah and Sarawak.

Another parent, who only wished to be known only as Mani, is happy that her son’s school had started serving more vegetables to the children a few months ago.

“Previously, the canteen at his school here served mostly processed food such as fish fillet and nuggets.

“I am happy and I hope they keep it up. This helps children to develop a healthier eating habit,” said the 39-year-old sales assistant.

Meanwhile, Jackson Chong, 53, hoped that the RMT could be extended to secondary schools to assist more families in coping with the rising cost of living.

The father of two said he gave his son, who is in Form Two, between RM8 and RM10 daily for food.

“I also hope the programme can cover the middle-income group as well because people like us are often left out from any form of government aid,” said the businessman, whose shops selling jade accessories were closed down amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

He is now operating a florist from home to cut down the operational costs.