KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 — Two headmasters in Johor encouraged the schools in their district to distribute “get smart” pills to their students, said the DAP’s Ong Kian Ming.

At a press conference today, he showed reporters copies of memorandums from the Malaysian Federation of the Council of Headmasters signed by the two headmasters; one from Mersing and the other from Kota Tinggi.

Serdang MP Ong said the education minister should investigate this case and “put an immediate stop” to the promotion of the chewing tablet.

The pills, marketed as Dimensi 108, is said to make children smarter and more obedient.

However, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has come out to say the pills are “nothing more than sugar.”

In a report by national daily The Star, MMA president Datuk Dr NKS Tharmaseelan said “95 per cent of the pills consists of sugar and other carbohydrates.”

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, who was also at the press conference, said it was troubling that the pills are being “endorsed” by headmasters.

In one of the memorandums, one of the headmasters writes: “Saya mendapati setelah murid yang mengambil pemakanan Tablet Minda setiap hari selama dua tahun berturut prestasi UPSR semakin meningkat” (“I have found that after a student takes the Tablet Minda every day for two years their performance in UPSR improves.”)

“We call for an immediate action because it affects hundreds and thousands of our students across Malaysia,” Pua said.

“It is a crime against our students. Teachers are not supposed to promote any product,” he added.

In the Dimensi 108 packaging, the logo of the Health Ministry is displayed at the bottom, which suggests that it is endorsed by the ministry.

“We call upon the minister of health to investigate if any breaches of law have taken place in relation to Dimensi 108’s marketing strategies to the schools and in its packaging,” Ong said.