KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry has advised school canteens to continue their operations despite a lower number of pupils coming to eat during Ramadan.
Its minister Fadhlina Sidek stressed the importance of treating non-Muslim children with inclusivity to avoid unwanted scenarios of pupils eating in the store or by the gutter.
"What we want to emphasise is the matter of treating each other with respect because this is a Madani government, an inclusive government.
"Those who are fasting respect others who don't, and vice versa. Therefore I suggest canteen operators continue their operations because there are pupils in primary school that are not required to fast yet at an early age."
"So, I suggest that the canteens continue their operations and (the canteen operators) discuss this with the school. Don't worry. There is no question of shutting them down," she said at the Yayasan Petronas Back to School Pack Handover Ceremony 2023 at Sekolah Kebangsaan Pendidikan Khas Jalan Batu (L), here today.
This is following a news report on the Malaysian Canteen Operators Association secretary Siti Normah Md Desa saying it was unreasonable for school canteens to operate with less than 10 per cent of non-Muslim pupils in school during Ramadan.
Normah said if school canteens were to continue operating during Ramadan, the operators would have to bear the operating costs that could not be covered by the sales.