Malaysians often spend money eating out - Rafizi

SHAH ALAM - A large part of people's income are spent on eating out, according to Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

He said as a result of this unhealthy practice, people experience a decrease in income and become more sensitive to sudden inflation in the prices of cooked food, even though the core inflation has decreased.

"The only household expense that is difficult to reduce is actually takeaway food, that's why we have a dichotomy when it comes to inflation, it looks healthy. It's about 2 per cent, 2.5 per cent.

"But generally, the public feels that this is not right because they feel they don't have enough money at the end of the month," he said, as reported by a local news portal.

Rafizi said on average, local households spend about one-third of their disposable income on take-away food.

He added that more than half of the food ordered on delivery apps is priced at RM30 or less for each order.

Rafizi clarified that spending on food for home consumption, including groceries, is generally higher in Malaysia compared to most economies in Asia.

However, he pointed out that people cannot be solely blamed for this matter, as he claimed that this habit stemmed from past government policies.

He added that past policies include the salary structure and economy of Malaysia.

"In other countries, eating out is seen as a leisure activity. We spend more money to buy raw materials, cook, and eat, occasionally, we will eat out," he said.

According to him, the weak public transportation policy also forces most households to resort to packing food.

"It's also about the time people spend going to and from work, and how much time they have when they come home from work to prepare food.

"So these are all things that I think are unintended consequences of many past policies," he said.