Despite public appetite for Menu Rahmah, food operators say unsustainable without Putrajaya aid
Food operators continued to voice support for the Menu Rahmah initiative to offer consumers affordable meals, with some saying they dropped these after pledged support from the federal government did not materialise. — Picture by Miera Zulyana
Saturday, 13 Apr 2024 7:00 AM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — Food operators continued to voice support for the Menu Rahmah initiative to offer consumers affordable meals, with some saying they dropped these after pledged support from the federal government did not materialise.
Speaking to the Malay Mail, two restaurateurs said it was no longer feasible to offer meals at RM5 each without financial assistance, saying rising food costs meant they would have to incur a loss with each sale.
In January 2023, then Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister, the late Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, introduced the Menu Rahmah initiative for restaurants to offer meals at a recommended price of RM5.
Despite initial criticism, the programme was later met with encouraging response from consumers, even those from the middle-income category.
While Salahuddin envisioned the initiative to be sustainable without government funding, it falls under the ministry’s Payung Rahmah initiative that includes Jualan Rahmah programme and the special discount incentive for traders offering Menu Rahmah.
Saturday, 13 Apr 2024 7:00 AM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — Food operators continued to voice support for the Menu Rahmah initiative to offer consumers affordable meals, with some saying they dropped these after pledged support from the federal government did not materialise.
Speaking to the Malay Mail, two restaurateurs said it was no longer feasible to offer meals at RM5 each without financial assistance, saying rising food costs meant they would have to incur a loss with each sale.
In January 2023, then Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister, the late Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, introduced the Menu Rahmah initiative for restaurants to offer meals at a recommended price of RM5.
Despite initial criticism, the programme was later met with encouraging response from consumers, even those from the middle-income category.
While Salahuddin envisioned the initiative to be sustainable without government funding, it falls under the ministry’s Payung Rahmah initiative that includes Jualan Rahmah programme and the special discount incentive for traders offering Menu Rahmah.
Despite initial criticism, the Menu Rahmah programme was later met with encouraging response from consumers, even those from the middle-income category. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
Salleh Othman, who manages Restoran Kampong Cili Padi, said he is ending his Menu Rahmah offering this month. He said food prices have increased too much to continue offering the Menu Rahmah that have been loss-making since he made them available last year.
Salleh said this was exacerbated by his inability to access discounted ingredients promised to Menu Rahmah operators.
“I was offering for a year until this month, when we decided to stop. They (KPDN) said they will give us the discount card and when we went to some places to buy groceries, the outlets said they cannot give us the discount,” said Salleh.
He claimed he visited all of the participating supermarkets and hypermarkets listed in the special discount card for restaurateurs offering Menu Rahmah, only to be told privilege was no longer valid.
“If the price of things are the same as last year, we can still give (Menu Rahmah), but now, with everything having increased or on the rise, we cannot offer it.
Salleh Othman, who manages Restoran Kampong Cili Padi, said he is ending his Menu Rahmah offering this month. He said food prices have increased too much to continue offering the Menu Rahmah that have been loss-making since he made them available last year.
Salleh said this was exacerbated by his inability to access discounted ingredients promised to Menu Rahmah operators.
“I was offering for a year until this month, when we decided to stop. They (KPDN) said they will give us the discount card and when we went to some places to buy groceries, the outlets said they cannot give us the discount,” said Salleh.
He claimed he visited all of the participating supermarkets and hypermarkets listed in the special discount card for restaurateurs offering Menu Rahmah, only to be told privilege was no longer valid.
“If the price of things are the same as last year, we can still give (Menu Rahmah), but now, with everything having increased or on the rise, we cannot offer it.
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Fuziah Salleh said the decline in food operators offering Menu Rahmah meals was due to low awareness among businesses. — Picture by Miera Zulyana
In a recent interview with Malay Mail, Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Fuziah Salleh said the decline in food operators offering Menu Rahmah meals was due to low awareness among businesses.
She said the discount card would help ensure they did not have to incur a loss as a result of Menu Rahmah offerings.
However, Salleh said the lack of awareness appeared to be with the supermarkets and hypermarkets, which he insisted were not honouring the discount cards.
“The feedback we got from the cashiers at the counter is that they don’t participate in the Rahmah initiative,” Salleh, who has been in the food and beverage business since 2018, added.
Like many of his peers, Salleh said he took up the Menu Rahmah initiative to do his part for fellow Malaysians, adding that the popularity of the scheme showed how badly it was needed by low- to middle-income earners.
Despite this, he said it was not financially sustainable to continue participating without the promised discounts.
“If there will be special Rahmah prices for restaurant owners, then we can consider offering again,” he added.
In a recent interview with Malay Mail, Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Fuziah Salleh said the decline in food operators offering Menu Rahmah meals was due to low awareness among businesses.
She said the discount card would help ensure they did not have to incur a loss as a result of Menu Rahmah offerings.
However, Salleh said the lack of awareness appeared to be with the supermarkets and hypermarkets, which he insisted were not honouring the discount cards.
“The feedback we got from the cashiers at the counter is that they don’t participate in the Rahmah initiative,” Salleh, who has been in the food and beverage business since 2018, added.
Like many of his peers, Salleh said he took up the Menu Rahmah initiative to do his part for fellow Malaysians, adding that the popularity of the scheme showed how badly it was needed by low- to middle-income earners.
Despite this, he said it was not financially sustainable to continue participating without the promised discounts.
“If there will be special Rahmah prices for restaurant owners, then we can consider offering again,” he added.
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