He said to date, the ministry had not received any reports about the matter, adding that it had always ensured the well-being of students, especially those from poor families.

“The teachers are also concerned about the problems faced by students. If their students do not eat, the teachers will know and will not let the situation continue.

“The opposition should conduct a survey to find how many schools are getting RMT. Do a sampling of at least five or six schools, then only comment,” he said.

Mahdzir was commenting on a statement allegedly made by Nurul Izzah yesterday, connecting the RMT to a recent report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) which claimed that children from the People’s Housing Programme (PPR) areas in Kuala Lumpur were stunted and underweight.

Nurul Izzah had urged the ministry to improve the RMT and act on the report.

Mahdzir said through the RMT programme, the government had allocated about RM250 million to more than 400,000 primary school children throughout the country.

“In the case of poor students who are not staying in hostels, they are given RMT food for 190 days a year during school sessions, and all the food is prepared according to set procedures.

“The opposition should not just point fingers and find fault with the government. Go to the schools and see for yourself,” he said.