Rising costs force restaurants to yank out Menu Rakyat 1Malaysia

Ukhwah restaurant in Jalan Medan Tuanku, Kuala Lumpur, is still offering Menu Rakyat 1Malaysia (MR1M) but at a higher price tag. – The Malaysian Insider pic, July 13, 2015.

Menu Rakyat 1Malaysia (MR1M) or 1Malaysia People's Menu programme, introduced in 2011 to help fight rising costs, appears to be out of favour among Malaysians, with many eateries which used to offer meals as cheap as RM2, now taking it out of their menu.

Acknowledging that MR1M is difficult to implement because of soaring prices of goods, Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) president Noorul Hassan Saul Hameed said most restaurant owners who participated in the programme could no longer afford to provide cheap set meals to their customers.

He said during the programme's inception in 2011, about 40 members jumped on the bandwagon, hoping to make it as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) but found out later that they could only survive for one year due to rising prices of raw materials.

"Many had stopped offering MR1M even before the 13th general election and started selling an equivalent meal at normal prices.

"We face a lot of constraints, and this included the fluctuating fuel prices. The government asked us to be socially responsible, but many of our members could barely make ends meet," he told The Malaysian Insider.

Noorul said this year, during the early stages of the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), businesses declined between 10% and 30%, making it even more difficult for restaurants to maintain the quality of food at such a low price.

Furthermore, he said, there were no additional incentives from the government to outlets offering MR1M.

"When things are hard like this, it is difficult continue with the Menu Rakyat because no one wants to do it for free.

"The government, too, is not willing to do it for free, how are we supposed to do it? Often, we will be victimised.

"Restaurant owners are always blamed as the cause of rising prices of food and drinks but it must be noted that we also have to bear any increase in prices by the wholesalers and suppliers," said Noorul.

Presma has close to 3,200 members nationwide.

While others may have slowly phased out MR1M, Ukhwah restaurant in Jalan Medan Tuanku, Kuala Lumpur continues with the programme but with a higher price tag.

Many restaurants found it economically unviable to offer Menu Rakyat 1Malaysia (MR1M) at the prices set by the government in 2011 at the launch of the programme. – backpackingmalaysia.com pic, July 13, 2015.

The breakfast menu comprising either roti canai, fried rice, nasi lemak, fried noodles or fried kuey teow with teh O is now priced at RM2.50 while a lunch set of rice with either chicken, meat, or seafood with vegetable and air sirap is at RM4.50.

Its owner, Zulkiflee Sariffudin, said he would want to keep on offering MR1M as long as he could while maintaining the quality of the meal.

"It's not easy to keep to the original price because there are many hidden costs that needed to be considered, including operational and manpower," he said.

Zulkiflee said that apart from the MR1M, the restaurant also offered other bargain menus, including RM5.50 for chicken rice, rice with mackerel at RM4, tea and Nescafe at between RM1.50 and RM2.

He said although there were customers who questioned the price increase for MR1M, the majority were able to accept their explanation.

"I believe this programme can still go on but not as cheap as when it was first introduced.

"After all, people do not mind paying more as long as they are satisfied with the food. People are more concerned about the quality of food than the price.”

MR1M was launched in 2011 by then Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs Ministry, aimed at reducing the burden of the people dealing with soaring prices.

The programme, considered as an ambitious initiative, attracted more than 1,000 outlets in its first two months.

- TMI