KUALA LUMPUR: The government should consider providing free healthy meals to children up to the age of three to combat malnutrition and stunting, says an opposition Member of Parliament.
Citing the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2024, Datuk Dr Alias Razak (PN-Kuala Nerus) said that 16.1 per cent of Malaysian children under five suffered from stunting, while over 16 per cent of schoolchildren were obese.
He added that nearly 95 per cent of children did not consume sufficient fruits and vegetables, according to the survey.
“This suggests the issue is not a lack of food, but rather an unbalanced diet. It may also be linked to the rising cost of living, which is not matched by income levels,” he said during the debate on the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Alias said that when household income is limited, the cheapest food is naturally chosen, regardless of its nutritional value.
This situation is exacerbated by the sales and service tax (SST) on imported fruits, making healthy options more expensive than unhealthy snacks high in sugar, salt, and fat, he added.
Following this, he urged the government to consider providing healthy food assistance to all children from birth to three years old, or within the critical first 1,000 days, to prevent malnutrition and provide vital support.
“As an effective intervention to address this issue, is the government considering providing healthy food assistance? The cost of treating complications from malnutrition and stunting is far greater than supplying free healthy meals,” he said.
Alias also cited a study indicating that providing free prepared meals at RM150 per child during the first 1,000 days would cost RM2.418 billion annually, compared to RM34.09 billion per year spent treating stunting and its complications.
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