Despite public appetite for Menu Rahmah, food operators say unsustainable without Putrajaya aid

By admin-s On Apr 13, 2024

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.

(MMO) – 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hypermarkets listed in the special discount card for restaurateurs offering Menu Rahmah, only to be told privilege was no longer valid.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.