Primary school pupils to get free breakfast

KUALA LUMPUR: Primary school pupils will be able to enjoy free breakfast under a programme that will start next year from the revenue collected from the soonto-be-implemented sugar tax.

In his keynote address at Invest Malaysia yesterday, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said there would be no new taxes this year besides the sugar tax.

“There will be no new tax this year, except for the sugar tax, which we have announced (in the 2019 Budget),” he told the 2,300strong crowd.

“It is delayed a bit as we want to ensure that the mechanism is effective to meet our health objectives.

“Beginning next year, the government will use the revenue collected from this tax to provide a free and healthy breakfast programme for primary school pupils. We want our children to be strong and healthy to perform in school.”

Malaysia will impose an excise tax of 40 sen per litre on sweetened beverages starting July 1. The tax was delayed from its original start date of April 1 following feedback from manufacturers and the Customs Department.

It was reported that the tax would be imposed on soft drinks with more than 5g of sugar or sugar-based sweetener per 100ml.

This included carbonated drinks, or flavoured and other non-alcoholic beverages.

For juice or vegetable-based drinks, a 40 sen tax per litre will be imposed on drinks with more than 12g of sugar per 100ml.

Revamped education policies took centre stage in Dr Mahathir’s first appearance at Invest Malaysia since Pakatan Harapan took over Putrajaya in May last year.

“We want to produce quality, future-proof and values-driven graduates through three main outcomes. Firstly, the emphasis on values in education. Secondly, increasing quality across the system. And thirdly, more autonomy and accountability.

“Key steps have been taken towards these end in the last 10 months, which include reviewing national civic and religious education curriculum.

“We have also abolished exams for Year 1 to 3 to make way for a more holistic development of each child.”