Did somebody drink up the milk aid for poor students?

During the tabling of Malaysia's Budget 2018 last year, the BN-led administration announced an allocation of RM299 million for the Education Ministry's Supplementary Food Programme under which comes the 1Malaysia Milk Programme (PS1M).

However, the status of this milk assistance programme, aimed at helping poor school students, is not known as there has been no sign of such aid being distributed to the target group so far.

National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Harry Tan Huat Hock said the milk in cartons should have been distributed to schools when the 2018 school session started in January.

However, Tan added, he could not determine whether this was done.

"We were shocked why such a good programme was stopped without any notification from the Education Ministry.

"According to (schools') senior assistants who are in charge of student affairs, what they understood was that there wasn't (any supply of milk) (from the beginning of this year)," he told Malaysiakini today.

Tan said by right there should have been a special allocation for the scheme as per the BN government's announcement.

"Logically, that should be the case," he said.

PS1M was initially known as "Program Susu Sekolah" (or PSS) which was started in 1983.

It was a part of the Education Ministry's food aid programme better known by its Malay acronym RMT (Rancangan Makanan Tambahan) and was aimed at encouraging students in primary schools to consume milk.

In the Budget 2018 tabled by then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, the government had allocated RM299 million for the RMT programme.

It would seem that the RMT programme was continued this year albeit without the milk being distributed.

Tan said the milk supply should have been distributed to schools nationwide in two phases in March and June to fulfil the need of students throughout the year.

"According to the procedure, teachers would have to give out forms at the start of the school year for parents' permission before the milk cartons are distributed in March.

"However, the schools did not get the milk. There was none even before May 9," he said, referring to the date of the country's 14th general election.

Tan said the students who were supposed to receive the aid came from poor families and were usually also malnourished.

"I am puzzled (by this) so I have asked the ministry to check where the milk assistance scheme has gone," he said.

Delayed or discontinued?

In October 2017, the media reported then deputy education minister P Kamalanathan as saying the ministry had spent RM49.3 million between July and December on PS1M which benefitted 757,439 primary students at 7,780 schools nationwide.

Kamalanathan was also quoted as saying the ministry was studying the need to extend the programme to secondary schools.

Meanwhile, Tan said he was informed that there were milk distributors who had offered to sell their products to schools.

He said the milk, however, had to be bought by the students at higher than market prices.

"When they (the schools) found out that the price was higher than the market price, the schools did not make any attempt (to accept the offer)," he said.

Tan said NUTP wanted related agencies to give their feedback on the matter as soon as possible as it involved the issue of students' nutrition.

"NUTP wants to know why the milk was never distributed as this was a good programme.

"We want to know is it delayed, or discontinued, or what?

"Parents and teachers had raised this issue with the NUTP," he said.

Malaysiakini has contacted the Education Ministry now led by Maszlee Malik, for comments. - Mkini