Education minister rubbishes Unicef report on urban poor children

Melati A. Jalil Melati A. Jalil Updated 6 years ago · Published on 13 Mar 2018 11:55AM · 7 Comments

Children living in low-cost flats are deprived in terms of nutrition, education, safety and other living conditions, says a recent Unicef report, which the government disputes. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, March 13, 2018.

EDUCATION Minister Mahdzir Khalid has downplayed a Unicef report on the deprivation and malnutrition among children living in low-cost flats in Kuala Lumpur.

He told the Dewan Rakyat during question time today that government schemes, such as the supplementary food programme (RMT), covered all schools in rural and urban areas.

“I don’t know how the Unicef report was published and how it could compare (us) with Ghana. 

“We have our own study (and) so far there is no school that shows our pupils are deprived. (And) actually, there’s no case of pupils going hungry at schools, as reported by teachers,” he said in reply to a supplementary question from Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR-Lembah Pantai).

The Unicef report, Children Without: A study of urban child poverty and deprivation in low-cost flats in Kuala Lumpur, published on February 26, shows that children living in low-cost flats are deprived in terms of nutrition, education, safety and other living conditions.

The study is a measure of government programmes for the urban poor.

It found that 34% of children under five in Kelantan face stunted growth, followed by Terengganu and Pahang (26%) and Putrajaya, Perak, Sabah & Labuan (24%).

Stunted growth in children in Sarawak was 23%, followed by Perlis (21%), Penang (20%), Negri Sembilan (19%), Kedah (18%), Malacca (14%), Johor (12%) and Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (11%).

The report, which compared countries with similar GDP per capita as Malaysia, said in terms of stunting, Malaysian children were worse than Ghana, despite its GDP per capita being six times higher, at 21%.

Izzah had asked if the ministry would address the problems highlighted in the report.

Mahdzir earlier said the government had set aside some RM250 million for this year’s RMT programme, covering 190 school days. 

He said 458,483 of the more than two million primary schoolchildren were on the programme

“The programme covers 40,948 SRJK(C) and 20,620 SRJK(T) primary school pupils,” he said, adding that the food programme had benefited  2.6 million pupils since 2014. 

The Unicef study found that 97% of low-cost flat households with a median income of RM2,500 a month were unable to have healthy meals because of high food prices.

More than half, or 52% of households said they had not enough money to buy food in recent months, 15% said this was a frequent experience, and 12% said their children ate fewer than three meals a day.

Malnutrition among children living in low-cost flats was found to be higher than the national average of 22%.

The study, conducted from August 28 to September 30 last year, surveyed 996 households and 2,142 children in 17 low-cost flats in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. – March 13, 2018.

Sign up or sign in here to comment.

Comments

  • Find out the details of the report why there is such a discrepancy. Resolve it accordingly. Don't just quickly jump into denial. Our cabinet members really need to improve their quality in every aspect.

    Posted 6 years ago by Shiaw Loh · Reply

  • Please ensure any nutritious food & drink kids get includes the not-so-newly- discovered VITAMIN K2 for stronger bones & teeth with less cavities! TQ

    Posted 6 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply

  • I have just last week started to take Vitamin K2 in supplement form when the latest research showed that if you take Calcium you also need to synergise it with Vitamins D3, & K2 in addition to Magnesium as these 4 nutrients all work together to benefit our bodies in tremendous ways! TQ

    Posted 6 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply

  • Mahdzir is absolutely correct - do not compare or benchmark Malaysia with any countries. This would expose Malaysia as a Pariah Nation. We believe Malaysia is the Best country in the world - where the population are fed Dedak to keep their mind under control, easy to fool, easy to manage and easy to cheat. Dedak Bolih

    Posted 6 years ago by Chris Ng · Reply

  • Govt hospitals dishing out Calcium to women, elderly patients, etc. must ensure it is a quality supplement(s) that includes Vitamins K2 & D, and Magnesium to incorporate the latest research. By doing so the following benefits will accrue: (1) their better overall absorption by the body (2) avoid Calcium deposits (a) in forming painful kidney stones (b) avoid Calcium being deposited on walls of arteries and narrow them, reducing blood flow & cause strokes and heart attacks (3) help in prevention of diabetes, cancer, obesity, & other benefits. TQ

    Posted 6 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply

  • taking hint from minister super sohai keruak saying this studies doesn’t actually the real situation here in bolehland

    Posted 6 years ago by Leslie Chan · Reply

  • As menteri, he could take it in and check if RMT really work. I was RMT receiver throughout my entire primary years and I take myself as tough kid to actually sit exclusively at the canteen away from other friends who don't qualify RMT and held head high when teachers are not even care if all kids actually took in the food or not due to being teased by other kids. Plus, at school I was full but then most of times back then I don't eat anything at dinner.

    Posted 6 years ago by Siti Fatimah · Reply