The canteen in SK Bandar Tasik Puteri in Rawang will remain closed during the fasting month because it is unsustainable to just cater for a small non-Muslim student population.

A school official who requested anonymity told malaysiakini that out of 2,853 students, only 89 were non-Muslims. These students have been asked by school authorities to provide their own food.

The official said the canteen operator would suffer a loss should he operate now, and that a similar arrangement existed last year.

"It's just for one month" said the official.

He was asked to respond to a complaint which appeared in the 'SMS your views' column of The Star newspaper today.

"The primary school canteen in Bandar Tasik Puteri, Rawang is closed during the fasting month. What can the hungry children, who are non Muslims eat?" read the anonymous message.

Gombak Education Department refused comment when contacted.

New phenomenon

Meanwhile, Consumer Association of Subang and Shah Alam (Cassa) told malaysiakini that this was a new phenomenon and they have received many similar complaints of late.

Cassa president Jacob George said for example, the canteen at his daughter's primary school served nothing more than sweets and junk food during Ramadan.

"Not everyone has family members that can cook or prepare food for them. In such cases, there is no alternative for (the non-Muslim) children," he said when contacted today.

He added that there should be at least a skeleton crew to serve food for the children, and even serve as a contingency in case there are young Muslims who might faint during their fast.

He said the matter needs to be addressed as the school authorities are duty bound to ensure that the welfare of their students are taken care off and that there are no bias in policies.

"We shouldn't turn school into mini 'hotspots' by exposing the children to bias at such a young age," added Jacob.