BUTTERWORTH, Jan 11 — On the eve of the new school session, parents across Penang are making final purchases of school necessities, taking advantage of clearance sales at shopping centres and apparel stores.

A Bernama survey found that shops selling uniforms, shoes, and school bags were crowded, with some parents willing to wait in long queues to ensure their children are fully prepared before their first day of school.

A school uniform shop here on Jalan Telaga Air attracted large crowds by offering uniforms for as low as RM5 per piece, significantly below market prices.

Mother of four, N. Thasvini, 30, travelled some 30 kilometres from Sungai Bakap to buy school uniforms for three of her children, aged six to 11.

The Batu Kawan-based cleaner explained that she had to make last-minute preparations today as she needed time to save the necessary funds, and was pleasantly surprised by the affordable prices.

“I saw on TikTok that there was a shop here having a sale, so I decided to come and get clothes for my three children who attend Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil Sungai Bakap.

“I had budgeted about RM100 for their uniforms, but with the RM5 price tag, I spent less than RM50 for all three. I managed to save a lot,” said Thasvini, who was accompanied by her self-employed husband, K. Yuvaraj, 32.

Another parent, Ummu Thoiyibah A’azman, 37, a nurse from Pasir Gebu, Penaga, expressed relief at finding affordable school supplies despite the last-minute rush to buy school items for her children, Muhammad Norrizqi, 10, and Ummu Rumaisa, 8.

“Because of work, today was my only free time. Even though it was quite crowded, I’m relieved everything was available. Since the prices are so low, I bought extra sets as spares for them,” she said.

Shop owner S. Selvam said the sale was intended to ease the financial burden for families facing rising living costs and to ensure every child could start the year with new clothes.

He said the promotion, which began on Dec 15 and ends today, offers shirts, skirts and trousers at RM5 each, while school headscarves (tudung) are priced at RM1 each.

“This year, we brought in over 20,000 pieces of clothing. At the same time, I have also been supplying stock to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), individuals, and Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) in states like Selangor and Negeri Sembilan for distribution to students there,” he said.

Selvam, whose family has operated a textile and curtain business for 40 years, added that he sourced stock from a recently closed company, allowing him to pass the savings to customers.

According to the 2026 Academic Calendar released by the Ministry of Education, the school session for states in Group B, involving Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Wilayah Persekutuan (WP) Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, begins tomorrow. Schools in Group A (Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu) involving some one million pupils commenced their 2026/2027 session today. — Bernama