At the Dewan Rakyat recently, parliamentarians were debating on advertising restrictions for fast foods claiming their detrimental effects on health of Malaysians. One wonders whether fast foods are the the sole culprits here.
How about your the nasi daun pisang or the mee mamak? I can confidently say that a meal of these will contain higher number of calories and fat as compared to a set meal at McDonald’s. Surely the list of unhealthy local foods can be lengthy as well.
Rather than hyping on stereotyping certain kinds of food, it might be useful to educate Malaysians on choosing their foods based on caloric content and reminding them of the importance of a correct food pyramid.
Food providers also do have a role in propagating good eating habits. I laud the move by McDonalds in enlightening their patrons on the nutritional content of their menu. Others should follow suit and it may make sense making such declarations mandatory even for the average mamak stall.
With the inevitable implementation of the GST, it is time that consumers demand a full disclosure of the items or the services that they purchase.
