Study finds Malaysia’s healthy plate model too costly for most
The health ministry’s ‘suku suku separuh’ model recommends a quarter portion of protein, a quarter portion of carbohydrates, and half a portion of fruits and vegetables for each meal.
2025-09-08T13:25:25Z
Minderjeet Kaur



PETALING JAYA: The health ministry’s “suku suku separuh” healthy plate model remains out of reach for many households due to cost reasons, said a healthcare watchdog today.

The Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy, and Universiti Teknologi Mara recently carried out a two-week online survey which saw 687 participants nationwide submit photos of their meals and estimated costs if cooked at home.

According to the survey, the cost of a balanced meal ranged between RM8.53 in Kedah and RM16.27 in Kuala Lumpur, with the average cost coming out to be RM12.57.

Other states recorded mid-range prices such as RM11.78 in Negeri Sembilan, RM11.62 in Melaka, RM10.33 in Sabah, and RM10.22 in Penang.

Johor (RM14.84), Selangor (RM14.60) and Sarawak (RM14.20) were among the higher-cost states, while Perlis (RM9.68), Perak (RM9.95), Pahang (RM8.78), Terengganu (RM8.71) and Labuan (RM9.50) remained below RM10.

“The survey clearly found that the health ministry’s ‘suku suku separuh’ healthy plate model is not affordable for most Malaysians,” said Galen Centre’s CEO, Azrul Khalib, during a forum here.

“Even when people are spending more on food in cities, it doesn’t mean that they are getting the best nutritional value.”

The “suku suku separuh” model recommends a quarter portion of protein, a quarter portion of carbohydrates, and half a portion of fruits and vegetables for each meal.



Azrul said the survey also showed that more than half of lunch meals consumed, or 57.1%, fall within the moderate calorie range of 400 to 600 calories. Around 23.6% exceeded 600 calories and only 19.2% of the meals provided less than 400 calories.

The survey recommended that the government strengthen subsidies and incentives for healthy food, establish a centralised data platform to carry out research, and engage stakeholders from the food industry.

Azrul also suggested that the health ministry could help Malaysians source for healthier meals at cheaper prices by releasing a list of suitable foods.

The survey’s findings come as the number of non-communicable diseases continues to climb in Malaysia, with the prevalence of diabetes rising from 11.6% in 2006 to 18.3% in 2019.

Last week, a health ministry subsidiary said nearly 70% of the 301,650 participants at last year’s free health screenings under the PeKa B40 scheme were found to have at least one NCD.

According to the 2023 National Health and Morbidity Survey, 2.5% of Malaysian adults suffer from all four major NCDs, while 40% of diabetics were unaware of their condition until screened.

Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/...ostly-for-most/

bukan too costly

it's "tak kena dengan tekak saya"

Many people will get hungry fast with this kind of diet.

Healthy food where can be cheaper than carbs.

Carbs. are known to be cheapest

When you go any warong or mamak, 90% of the dishes are meat either fried or banjir in gravy, only 10% is vege/egg. And the drinks all sweet af even after "kurang manis".

eating outside suku apa also tak guna

all the high salt high sugar high price

with all the price hike, sooner or later eating mcd burger will become the regular food replacing normal meal...

I rarely take sweet drinks. Yesterday I had my first slurpee of 2025. It was a minor miracle that i saw a working slurpee machine at i passed a 7-11. Tasted sooo good but the paper straw was crap.

50% fruit or vege (rm6.3 for 1 kg) rm3.5
add pork and rice. +15.
total rm 18.50. healthy is so expensive.


https://www.lazada.com.my/products/royale-g...2029237517.html?

This post has been edited by Phoenix_KL: Sep 10 2025, 01:27 PM

Jsut add tofu or tempe . Cheap and Plant based some more . No related risk to cardio / cancer illnesses

One fish. Fish not cheap.

wtf sarawak rm14.. hutan there byk no tanam sayur ka

Healthy food = Too expensive
Rokok/arak = No problem

Makan healthy food bukan boleh umur panjang 200yrs pun. Yang penting rezeki haruslah berkah...then baru datang nikmat kesihatan.

tambah lagi

Too lazy to prepare and cook lor, and my cooking not as good as outside meal.

govt must increase brim

protein is hella expensive and veggies take time to prepare before cooking.
Kalau makan luar, cheap but carb heavy, so how?

cheese meleleh not expensive, can just eat with nasi putih

that shet expensive
baik beli McD rm5.95

the only acceptable cis meleleh is wanchizi, everything else is bleh

xde kuah camner make?

belum masuk kopi, teh tarik, sirap bandung

the way they cook deep fried, too much kuah, seasoning also no good :X

This post has been edited by anakkk: Sep 10 2025, 02:43 PM

deleted

This post has been edited by watermineral: Sep 10 2025, 04:33 PM

One time, I told the person taking my order that I wanted my drink 3x kurang manis, but I still ended up asking for extra air panas to further dilute it

this one more yummy



Daddy porkycorgi5588 can i have this tonight?

And yet people think cost of living is cheaper in East Malaysia

ya, starbucks, zus coffee, chagee why they no complain?

Cheaper to be unhealthy

you dilute also no use, the sweet taste diluted but the sugar content still the same

They have

Under the original BR1M in 2017 the maximum a household could get was RM1200: https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/201...usehold/1496899

Under STR in 2025 the maximum a household can get is RM2500: https://www.ajobthing.com/resources/blog/st...nts-eligibility

Which ones here kena sst?

Rice is exempt from SST

(Raw) Chicken is exempt from SST

Mushrooms are exempt from SST

Vegetables, from Tomatoes to Onions to Cabbages to Cucumbers to Peas to Beans to corn is exempt from SST

https://mysst.customs.gov.my/assets/documen...71%20(2025).pdf

"Selected imported fruits (apples, oranges, mandarin oranges, and dates) have been added to the exempt list following public feedback.": https://mysst.customs.gov.my/assets/documen...%20200_2025.pdf

stagnant wages lead to long working hours, which then leads to less time for healthy meals

just look around you, its expensive to eat healthy

thankfully our public hospitals is heavily subsidised, which is just a bubble waiting to burst, once healthcare is no longer cheap, boom

Seriously, I would if.all this so called experts are living in wonderland?

This is common sense lah that eating healthy is of course more expensive. It's a worldwide problem & even if people can afford to eat healthy food every meal. A lot don't have the time to prepare.

It's easy to say prepare at home.more healthy, but who can spend average 1 hour preparing & cleaning up every day especially if come back.late from work already tired both physically & mentally.

The health minister got driver to ferry him around & maid to do the cooking sure easy for him to say cook at home more healthy.

takde cheese leleh mana boleh makan

Said many times
We are food importing nation not food producer.
And we don’t like eating vegetables only lots of cheap rice and sugar.

Gambar dari artificial generated or dari gambar yg benar? Red circle itu white button mushrooms gonna cost RM 8 or more per meal if 3 time a day damm most low income can't afford that shit if got 3 children or more , farm shiitake aint cheap either as a alternative

Healthy plate rename to expensive healthy plate much more better 😂

Kau pakai brown rice, sayur brokoli, prptein cendawan, memang la mahal

thats why last time i stayed in a melei area, type C economy rice was a godsend...

all the unhealthy kuah whatever and lack of vege, fuuuuuuu wtf everyday eating that u also subconsciouly feel u r unhealthy.

at least type C punya eco rice, got fried, got steam jiken, steam fish, steam pork, few types of veggies

but fuark, the type C eco rice need a distance and only open during certain hours. MCB

weekend pulak not open , ccb betul,

i seriously felt fking unhealthy, everyday i eat fried jiken, or kuah a lot punya jiken.
vege? everyday cabbage

This post has been edited by Knnbuccb: Sep 10 2025, 09:25 PM

Eggs tofu tempe canned fish mushroom are protein
Not that expensive
Veggies can cooked in minutes without oil or fire, just 2 minutes in a microwave and just drizzle shallot oil.

Like that better eat BLR than mamak food
Skip the expensive oily meat or seafood curries
Get a fried egg and eat bottomless veggies

bruh ... the sad thing is , even BLR susah mau cari

wtf

now u know why ayam depressed during that period

even eco rice... which is a basic requirement.... tak dapat... wtfffffffff

sometimes i felt eating mcd even seemed healthier and better value than eating at mamak and melei nasi campur....

why put mushroom instead of an animal based protein?
even an egg or 2 would be better

sohai punya healthy plate

I’m worse, I’m picky eater and can eat the same thing daily for weeks
Abd im equal opportunity racist to all mixed rice, Chinese Malay and mamak.
Haha

Yalo
Mushrooms can be quite mahal and takes effort to make tasty

Source of image: https://cikpandaporet.blogspot.com/2021/07/...cara-sihat.html

Feel free to try the many recepies of suku separuh: https://myresipi.com/menu-diet-suku-suku-separuh/

That's what the article is saying

The cost of eating based on the MOH's healthy plate model is "too costly for most"

Hence suggestions like subsidies and incentives for healthy food. Would be better than spending RM53 billion subsidising things like electricity, RON95, LPG, price controls on sugar via incentives: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/730632

No shit sherlock

https://www.wanisukarno.com/2024/05/idea-me...uk-sebulan.html

Feel free to try the many suku suku separuh recepies that have eggs

Lotus usually sell cavendish banana at RM5/kg.

Few days ago..i took 3 vege dishes + rice from mamak..5.50 only...

In the middle of KL city centre..

Expensive? Thts even cheaper thn most mix rice shops

Kangkung take only 5 mins to stir fry