KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 — The Malaysian School Canteen Operators Association is pleading with the government to allow its members to buy cooking ingredients at the targeted subsidy rates to keep their food prices affordable.
Its secretary Siti Normah Md Desa said more than 40 per cent of the association's 10,200 members nationwide had to stop operations due to increased costs since last year, The Star reported today.
“Canteens are a vital part of schools and most operators are not there to make huge profits. It is only right that we give our schoolchildren decent and affordable meals made by qualified operators,” she was quoted as saying.
Siti Normah said that despite the rising costs, canteen operators cannot adjust their prices and must sell their food and drinks at the price stated in the tender contract, which typically lasts for two years.
She also said operators who submitted their tenders in 2021 for the 2022 school year had lost much due to the continuous price hikes of ingredients.
As an example, she said raw chicken cost RM8.50 a kilogramme last week and is now priced at RM11.30, up by RM2.80.
Because of this, she disclosed that some operators have even resorted to hiring temporary stand-ins waiting for their contracts to expire.
Siti Normah related that for schoolchildren with pocket money of RM4 would have just enough to afford a plate of fried rice with a fried egg and a glass of water at most school canteens nationwide.
This is because of the recent hike in prices of raw ingredients like fish and vegetables.
Siti Normah also said that canteen operators are grateful for the recently announced rent exemption by the Education Ministry, but hoped the government could improve the rental system to keep prices low.
