KUALA LUMPUR – The Education Ministry should leave it to the schools and operators to decide whether to keep canteens open during the holy month of Ramadan, said the Malaysian School Canteen Operators Association.
Its president, Khairuddin Hamzah, told Scoop that each school is faced with a different situation, including the number of non-Muslim students and costs borne by the operators.
“The order to keep canteens open during Ramadan often causes a lot of anxiety for operators. For example, schools should be given the flexibility to temporarily halt operations if the majority of their students are Muslim.
“It doesn’t make sense to keep canteens open if the school has less than 80 non-Muslim students. In fact, there is a secondary school where there is only one non-Muslim student.
“Situations like this cause the operators to incur losses of up to thousands of ringgit if they open for business.”
To avoid this problem from happening every year, he suggested that the ministry align the school holidays with Ramadan next year.
“I also urge the ministry to exempt canteen rental during Ramadan to avoid losses among operators.
“Standard 1, 2, and 3 pupils should be allowed to eat in the canteen if they are unable to fast. Even though Standard 4, 5, and 6 students are not required to fast, they should at least not eat in public as a show of respect to other Muslims who are fasting.
“While in secondary schools, even if there are female students who cannot fast, it has become a practice not to eat in public.”
Earlier, PAS ulama wing chief Datuk Ahmad Yahaya accused the Education Ministry of triggering an “unnecessary polemic” and “wasting time” after Fadhlina ordered public school canteens to remain open during the fasting month of Ramadan.
He also said the closing of school canteens during the fasting month is a norm among citizens as a way of showing respect to fasting Muslims, stressing that non-Muslim students can also “appreciate the importance” of fasting without the practice being forced on them.
However, DAP’s Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan slammed PAS, saying that the party was more interested in dividing Malaysians.
“I urge PAS and PN (Perikatan Nasional) to stop politicising our children’s school canteens. Things like this should not be tainted with their narrow politics,” he said in a statement yesterday. – March 14, 2024