GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED set meals for public university students are a “good idea” but are not being implemented well, aside from being a short-sighted measure that does not address rising living costs, student leaders said.

The dishes are the same every day, raising concerns about nutritional benefits that come from eating a range of foods, while not all food stall operators are on the programme, they said.

The initiative, called Keluarga Malaysia Student Food Basket, offers two types of set meals priced at RM3.50 and RM5.

International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) student union president Aliff Naif Mohd Fizam, said for RM3.50, one gets rice with a fried egg and vegetables.

To get meat, such as a piece of chicken or fish, along with rice and vegetables, one must buy the RM5 set meal. Also offered for RM5 is kampung fried rice or cili padi fried rice.

“On paper, yes, this initiative does help low-income students to survive rising living costs, but it is only a short-term plan. The long-term plan must be to fix the problem once and for all,” said Aliff.

“If you fix that, then the government can lower the prices of goods in the country as a whole.”

Aliff also questioned why not all cafeterias on campus are providing the cheap meals initiative.

This was echoed by Chang Hung Wei, a student at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) with the same question about food stall operators on his campus, since they are supposed to be receiving a waiver on stall rentals in exchange for selling cheaper set meals.

“Do the stalls still receive the six-month moratorium (on rent) if they do not provide the food basket initiative? Because not all cafes or food stall owners are providing the set meals to students.

“I also think the programme needs to have more variety of food. Here in UUM, we can choose only ‘ayam merah’ or ‘ayam kicap’ while the vegetable is only cabbage.

“Chicken is only sold during lunch hour. For dinner, there are only anchovies but the price is the same as chicken,” said the School of Economics, Finance and Banking student.

Earlier this month, following Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s announcement on the food programme, Higher Education Minister Noraini Ahmad said food stall operators at public institutions of higher learning, will be given a rental moratorium for six months from this month.

This is so they can offer students the cheaper set meals, she said.

However, Universiti Malaya student union deputy president Arvinkumar Mohan said while the initiative is good, its implementation is found wanting.

The UM administration should ensure that all cafeterias abide by the government’s announcement.

“I am not satisfied with the implementation and we have conveyed this to the university administration.

“Some cafes are not following the programme and some are still selling lunch sets at RM7 to RM8, for a menu that is almost similar to what the government is now providing,” he added.

The students interviewed shared the view that the initiative was short-term, and may not even have happened had the protests against the rising cost of living not been held earlier.

Last month, the student unions of UM and IIUM spoke out against Putrajaya’s move to scrap subsidies and price caps for items like chicken and bottled cooking oil of 2kg and above, before it reversed that decision by only raising the ceiling price of chicken instead of letting the price float.

Two street demonstrations were held this month, on July 2 and 23, involving students under the #Turun banner to call for more action on rising living costs.

Their five demands to the government are: ministerial pay cuts, continuation of subsidies, improved aid packages to the people, control the price of goods, and address food security.

Police have identified 30 protesters, and they are being summoned in groups to have their statements taken. – July 27, 2022.