AS the Menu Rahmah initiative continues to gain traction in the country, Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub said that a mobile phone app to list locations of food outlets offering set meals at RM5 or less under the initiative is underway.
Salahuddin, who was speaking after the launch of a Menu Rahmah initiative by the Malaysian Tomyam Restaurant Owners Association (Pertom) at Lembah Keramat last night, said the app will display a directory of places that are open which offer the meals.
As many as 600 tomyam restaurants around the country are expected to offer the RM5 set meals.
Salahuddin, who is also the Pulai MP, further explained that domestic trade offices would hold more meetings with restaurant operators to promote the initiative and will develop a directory that will be a reference for people to find Menu Rahmah meals in restaurants in their vicinity.
“We will launch the application in the near future … give us time to develop the application first,” he was reported as saying.
According to Salahuddin, the implementation of the Menu Rahmah initiative incurs neither any expenditure nor allocation from the government and was entirely up to the commitment of food operators who voluntarily joined the initiative.
Elaborating, he said since its launch, the initiative has been well-received nationwide with many restaurants responding positively to the government’s aspiration to help feed those in need, especially the B40 group.
“Many traders are racing to join this initiative by offering food for as low as RM5 at their outlets. This means they want to do it together in the spirit of charity without anyone being compelled. So the concept here is clear – not a single sen of government money is involved,” he remarked.
He went on to stress that his ministry had never forced any business, entrepreneur or food industry player big or small to get involved in the initiative.
It is not a matter of compulsion, rather it is a deal with the industry, including Mydin (Mydin Mohamed Holdings Berhad), Malaysian Indian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association, Pertom, and Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association.
“It was only after this engagement session that we presented the Menu Rahmah idea with the target buyers being those who need daily meals at an affordable price,” he said.
Salahuddin launched the Menu Rahmah initiative on Jan 31 and as many as 15,000 food outlets have joined the effort, to help reduce the cost of living for the public, especially the poor. – Feb 9, 2023
Main pic credit: Bernama
