MALAYSIANS love their chicken – consuming a whopping 49kg a year, ranking third globally behind the US and Israel. But a food security expert, speaking on a podcast, says it’s time to cut back to once a day. Why?
We import 90% of our poultry feed (grain corn), leaving us completely vulnerable to global shocks like the Russia-Ukraine war, which skyrocketed feed costs and local chicken prices.
Eating chicken three times a day just isn’t sustainable. If we chill on the bird and swap in alternatives like tempeh, we’ll stabilise market prices and make the country way more food-resilient, they say.
The intervenant on the podcast Berilmu Berbakti, is Universiti Putra Malaysia Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Food Security director Prof Dr Anjas Asmara @ Ab. Hadi Samsudin.
“Many of us eat chicken three times a day without realising it,” Dr Anjas said.
The doctor cited common meals such as nasi lemak with chicken for breakfast, chicken rice for lunch, and chicken-based dishes for dinner.
Nevertheless, Malaysians have often proven that they do not want to be told how to live their lives.
When politicians, for example, advise folks not to eat too much chicken or not to eat at expensive restaurants after complaints of rising food prices, they tend to criticise the officials online.
Rawang assemblyperson Chua Wei Kiat stood by his demonstration that preparing one’s own meals is cheaper than eating out, despite backlash from internet users.
In a January comment, he reportedly said, “Go Somewhere Cheaper” to complain about a noodle store’s RM0.50 price hike. He received massive backlash for the comment. — June 13, 2026
