THE Angkatan Wanita AMANAH Nasional (AWAN) Kelantan has demanded that PAS Kapar MP Dr Halimah Ali apologise and withdraw her statement that the Menu Rahmah programme causes “cancer, autoimmune diseases, and autism, among other things.”Halimah issued a statement on Feb 17, asking critics not to twist her words and stating that her remarks had been “misunderstood.”Nevertheless, Pakatan Harapan (PH) is relentless in their criticism of Dr Halimah with AWAN head Dr Hafidzah Mustakim saying that when doctors and the global community value evidence-based medicine, it is rather awkward for the Kapar MP to make assumptions that deviate far from reality.According to Hafidzah, who is also a medical doctor, the Menu Rahmah is not just a cheap meal, but it is equipped with nutrients the body needs, such as carbohydrates from rice, as well as proteins from chicken, fish, and vegetables.“Is it true that Menu Rahmah is of such low quality that it causes cancer? I regret Dr Halimah’s reckless statement.“At a time when many parties, especially the people of B40, welcome the initiative of the government and the traders involved, YB Kapar’s statement should be withdrawn.“And an apology needs to be presented because it has the potential to cause confusion and negative perception among the people towards the government’s initiative,” he told Harapan Daily.Meanwhile, a doctor who works in Columbia Asia Cheras Hospital emergency department Dr Malar Santhi admits she is surprised by people who associate all diseases with food.“Why do all the diseases in Malaysia have to be linked to food? Eating the wrong food can cause autism, cancer.“We never believed that all diseases are caused by food. There are diseases caused by viruses, there are diseases caused by heredity, and the surrounding conditions,” she said in a video uploaded on TikTok.Nevertheless, the Kapar MP insisted that the message she had wanted to convey was that the poor quality of raw materials used by restaurants for Menu Rahmah could lead to the meal’s quality being compromised. — Feb 18, 2023
Main photo credit: The Star
