UNIVERSITY students going hungry to stretch their money made the news again recently, and The Malaysian Insight is taking a look at how much they have and what their expenses comprise.

Can it really be that hard to pay for three square meals a day when students have loans from the National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) to help defray costs?

It turns out that a balanced meal on campus, three times a day, can be beyond the means of many university students in the B40 group.

The cheapest meal – RM4 to RM5 chicken rice – takes up about half the daily food budget most B40 students have of between RM10 and RM12. For a more balanced meal with protein and vegetables, a student would have to fork out an extra RM8.

Students at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, said food is the most costly item in their monthly budget, and that they rely on free food programmes for poor students at the varsity.

IIUM’s Alumni Association runs one such programme for 200 underprivileged students, providing a free meal three times a week.

This costs the association RM2,400 a month, said its president, Khalek Awang.

The government, through the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, is also starting to roll out its Food Bank Malaysia programme at campuses nationwide, while Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik has urged the private sector to work with government agencies to feed hungry students.

The Malaysian Insight met students at IIUM to get a breakdown of their expenses, and see how they stack up against scholarship funds, pocket money from home, PTPTN loans they receive, as well as their family background.

Hanisah Kamaruzaman, 20, first-year Human Sciences student

Hanisah’s father works as a fisherman and her mother as a cleaner in their home state, Penang.

She relies on PTPTN loans to pay her tuition fees of RM1,500 a semester. Apart from that, all she gets is RM100 a month as pocket money from her parents.

“The highest daily expense is food. In one month, food can cost RM300 if I want to eat properly, so I try to stretch my funds.

“Then there are textbooks, which can cost RM100 to RM200, but I don’t buy all the books that I’m supposed to.

“I will save money by eating twice a day – in the morning and at noon – or I will just fast.”

When Hanisah does eat, she opts for chicken rice, which costs RM4 to RM5 on campus.

“I won’t go for rice with dishes as that will cost more. As for drinks, I just drink boiled water.

“There was one time I completely ran out of money, but fortunately, a friend lent me some to buy food.”

Muhamad Muslim, 24, third-year Law student

Hailing from Kelantan, Muhamad has neither PTPTN loans nor a scholarship. He depends on his late father’s pension to cover his fees of RM1,500 a semester.

His mother, who does not work and cares for his five siblings, also draws from her late husband’s pension to give Muhamad RM400 each month.

Muhamad said he did not take out a PTPTN loan as he does not want to be in debt in the future. 

“Besides the pocket money from my mother, I also work a few hours a week as a barista, which pays me RM30 a week.

“Food takes up most of my budget. In a day, I spend about RM10 to eat, so that’s about RM300 a month.

“I try not to spend on textbooks. I borrow from the library or from friends.”

Muhamad Syahmi Omar, 23, third-year Islamic Studies student

The Johor native receives RM3,000 each semester under a scholarship from a state foundation, half of which goes to university fees. His father is a lorry driver and his mother, a housewife.

Syahmi said he would be struggling much more in university without the scholarship, yet, he still has to stretch the balance of RM1,500 over the entire semester, which comes up to a little over RM300 a month.

“In my first year, I did not yet have the funds from the foundation. So, to pay my fees, we withdrew money from my father’s Employees Provident Fund account.

“With the scholarship now, I can spend RM12 a day on food (RM360 a month).

“For books, I only spend at the start of the semester, which can cost between RM70 and RM100 at one go. There are certain books I will buy new, or else, I will get used copies, depending on the subject.”

Daniel Mutalib, 23, third-year ICT student

Daniel from Kuala Lumpur uses his PTPTN loan of RM2,500 to pay his fees of RM1,500 per semester, as well as for daily expenses.

He is left with RM1,000 to stretch over the semester, and another RM500 a month in pocket money from his mother, who works in the private sector.

However, he said, he still tries to save so that he has money to buy books and for public transport.

“So, I do have to limit what I eat. The price of meals at the university is not cheap. The cheapest meal is RM6 to RM7 for a plate of chicken rice, or rice with fish and vegetables. That is just one meal, and doesn’t include breakfast and dinner. In a day, I try to budget RM10 to cover all meals.

“To save, I usually skip lunch if I manage to have breakfast. I’m thankful for some of these free food programmes.

“It is difficult. I feel for male students, especially, because we are always hungry. Usually, we’ll snack on biscuits at night when we feel peckish.”

Abdul Rahman Mohamed Lilam, 24, third-year ICT student

Rahman also receives a state foundation scholarship of RM2,500 per semester to cover university fees of RM1,500 per semester and daily expenses.

He does not get pocket money from his parents, who run a small trading business back home in Penang.

Rahman earns a very small side income from designing cards, but still cuts back on food to stretch his money, spending between RM5 and RM10 a day.

“If there is food from the free food programme, I will be able to eat a bit better, or else, I will just have instant noodles at night.

“As an IT student, I have to save a bit more as my course requires us to have a laptop and to print out our work. If not, it would be difficult to complete our assignments.

“I spend about RM20 a month to top up my mobile phone credit. I don’t have to spend on calls much because the university has free Wi-Fi. 

“For the final project each semester, I have to spend around RM50 to RM60 on paper, printing and binding costs.

“As for entertainment, on rare occasions, I can watch a movie, at the most, twice a month.”

Aishah Umairah Zulkifli, 22, first-year Economics student

Aishah, from Terengganu, relies on a PTPTN loan to pay her RM1,500 fees each semester.

She does not ask her family for pocket money, instead, using her own savings.

“I definitely have to spend carefully, so for meals, I eat once a day at times. I just need RM5 for a meal a day. If I need to go somewhere, I’ll walk or take the free bus around campus.

“I don’t buy a lot of books for my studies as I want to save money. I think it’s more important that I take good notes. 

“For entertainment, there are times I’ll go to the city just for a drink and to see a different view, and that’s about it.” – April 4, 2019.