PARLIAMENT | Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid has drubbed the Unicef report on urban child poverty in low-cost government flats (PPR) in the country, questioning how Unicef could compare Malaysian schoolchildren with those in Ghana.
This came after Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR-Lembah Pantai) asked the minister to review the effectiveness of the government's 1Malaysia Supplementary Food Programme (RMT) which provides food for needy children.
She said this was necessary in light of the Unicef report which said that 22 percent of Malaysian children, especially those in PPR are stunted, a much higher rate than in Ghana.
Mahdzir rubbished this finding, saying there were no children going without food in Malaysian schools.
"I don't know how the (Unicef) report could be published comparing us to Ghana.
"We can see for ourselves, our students, if you compare them to Ghana in terms of food, we give food to all (needy) children.
"We have done a study, and there are no children in such dire straits that they can't afford to eat, and there are no teachers reporting that children are not eating at school," Mahdzir said during minister's question time.
Mahdzir said the RMT provided meals for over 458,000 primary school children from all ethnic backgrounds with nutritional guidance by the health ministry.
For 190 school days, each child n Peninsular Malaysia was allocated a daily budget of RM2.50 while RM3 was given for those in East Malaysia, he added.
The minister's response came as Unicef said it was encouraged by the feedback to its report.
"As the country enters the ‘last mile’ of poverty eradication, it is important to ensure meaningful outcomes for the most vulnerable children; one which requires even stronger policies, a coordinated social protection floor and partnerships," Unicef representative in Malaysia Marianne Clark-Hattingh said in a statement.
Nurul Izzah (above) said Mahdzir's response was shocking.
"Mahdzir's response to the Unicef study on urban child poverty would utterly shock any right-thinking person with his outright rejection of the reputable agency’s findings.
"Daring to question and rubbish Unicef itself is emblematic of the larger systemic problem of social safety net provisions," she told Malaysiakini.
She said while the RMT might be a good programme, its effectiveness could only be determined if it is put to the test to see if its targets were being met.
She also said the programme needs to be streamlined with overall provisions in order to create a conducive environment for children. -Mkini
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