PETALING JAYA, Sept 10 — More than half of Malaysian households may struggle to afford meals that comply with the government’s Suku-Suku Separuh (SSS) dietary guidelines, according to an informal survey commissioned by the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy.
The poll, conducted by postgraduate students from Universiti Teknologi MARA’s (UiTM) Dental Public Health programme, estimated that an average household of 3.8 persons would need to spend RM34,883 annually to eat two SSS meals per day.
This amounts to nearly 46 per cent of Malaysia’s median annual household income of RM76,056.
The SSS campaign, launched in 2016 by the Ministry of Health (MOH), encourages Malaysians to fill a quarter of their plate with protein, another quarter with carbohydrates, and half with fruits and vegetables.
While the model promotes balanced nutrition, the Galen Centre-UiTM preliminary survey found that affordability remains a major barrier to adoption.
Sarawak recorded the heaviest burden, with households needing to spend nearly 66 per cent of income if they were to consume two daily SSS meals. Kelantan, Sabah, Negeri Sembilan, and Perak also exceeded 50 per cent. In contrast, two SSS meals a day were estimated to cost less than 35 per cent of household income in Labuan, Selangor, and Terengganu.
Nationwide, the average cost of an SSS meal was RM12.57. Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya were the most expensive at RM16.27 and RM16.24 respectively, followed by Johor at RM14.84 and Selangor at RM14.60. Kedah, Terengganu, and Kelantan were the cheapest, averaging between RM8.53 and RM8.90 per plate.
Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy chief executive Azrul Mohd Khalib said the findings highlighted the cost of eating healthy.
“One of the most important things that we’ve learned from this finding is a confirmation that fruits and vegetables are expensive, but also, the fact that trying to be healthy is expensive,” Azrul told reporters after a forum last Monday on the Galen Centre-UiTM survey.
“This is something that we’ve talked about, wondered about, but we haven’t been able to get enough data. Now, we have some data that shows very clearly that if you were to follow the Suku-Suku Separuh recommendations by the MOH, most households may likely not be able to afford it.
“And [the poll assumes] just two meals following the Suku-Suku Separuh. This means maybe you can have one meal following Suku-Suku Separuh, but the other meal, maybe not. So the issue here is how do we make it affordable? How do we ensure that we address where the pain points are when it comes to food and affordability?”
Expand Sara Cash Aid To Fruits And Vegetables
Azrul urged the government to expand its Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (Sara) cash aid programme to improve dietary habits.
“If the RM100 Sara aid doesn’t even include fruits and vegetables, that shows a lack of understanding by the government as to what their policies are saying, but also what people need. If you made it inclusive, maybe people can have more veggies.
“That’s not a solution, obviously. But it’s just one of the ways forward to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables.”
Under the Sara programme, all Malaysians aged 18 and above are entitled to a one-off RM100 credit, automatically channelled to their MyKad, which can be used between August 31 and December 31, 2025.
The cash assistance is restricted to 14 categories of essential products at over 7,300 participating stores and supermarkets nationwide, but it does not cover fruits and vegetables.
A nutritionist has previously warned that nearly all Malaysian adults do not consume enough vegetables daily. CodeBlue reported that 95 per cent of Malaysian adults do not eat enough vegetables, falling far short of the MOH’s Malaysian Dietary Guidelines intake of at least two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables every day.
Higher Prices Don’t Necessarily Mean Higher Calorie Content
The Galen Centre-UiTM survey analysed the calorie content of meals submitted by respondents, using the HealthifyMe AI calorie tracker.
This enabled the team to approximate energy intake and compare it with MOH’s SSS nutrition targets, which recommend about 550 kcal per meal for men and 450 kcal per meal for women, based on daily intakes of 2,000 kcal and 1,500 kcal respectively.
Labuan recorded the highest average lunch calorie intake at 551 kcal, followed by Johor at 545 kcal. In contrast, Sarawak had the lowest at 444 kcal, while Melaka averaged 462 kcal. Sarawak was also the only state falling below the female target calorie intake.
Yet, the most expensive SSS meals were in Kuala Lumpur (RM16.27) and Putrajaya (RM16.24), while the cheapest plates were in Kedah (RM8.53) and Terengganu (RM8.71). A Suku-Suku Separuh meal in Sarawak cost RM14.20, higher than the national average of RM12.57.
The results suggest that higher meal prices do not necessarily correspond to higher nutritional value, as Sarawak showed both higher costs and lower calories.
Overall, 57 per cent of meals fell within the “moderate” calorie range of 400 to 600 kcal. However, the survey showed that cost remained a barrier, with similar-calorie meals priced very differently across states.
A 521 kcal meal in Selangor cost RM14.60 on average, while a similar 486 kcal meal in Kedah cost RM8.53, suggesting that balanced meals may still be financially out of reach for lower-income households.
How Malaysians Interpret Suku-Suku Separuh
The table below is best viewed on desktop as you’ll be able to sort its columns.
Photos collected in the survey offered what Azrul described as “real-world evidence” of how Malaysians interpret healthy eating and assemble their meals under the Suku-Suku Separuh model.
Researchers observed that home-cooked plates typically contained a wider variety of fruits and vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, long beans, and ulam (raw vegetables and herbs).
By contrast, cafeteria or stall meals often came with limited vegetable options, usually spinach, beansprouts, mixed vegetables, or cucumber and tomato slices served alongside meals like chicken rice. Fruits were rarely included.
The MOH’s official Suku-Suku Separuh plate graphic prescribes a quarter protein, a quarter carbohydrates, and half fruits and vegetables. But Azrul noted that the public often interprets this too literally. He said the detailed dietary guidelines go further by specifying portion sizes in grams, which determine actual calorie content.
“One of the reasons why we decided to do this survey is to look at what people understand by Suku-Suku Separuh and how they think it looks – that’s very important,” said Azrul.
“The only graphic that is given by the MOH for guidance is the plate graphic. But if you look at the more detailed guidelines, it states how many grams, the portion, so it’s not like you have a huge plate and it’s Suku-Suku Separuh, and it’s healthy.
“It’s actually certain grams of meat, certain grams of veggies, protein, carbohydrates, and that’s where you get the calorie count.
“But people interpret it differently, and most importantly, it could even be tied to things like affordability. The affordability of a person with Suku-Suku Separuh in mind could even be smaller in states where they don’t make enough.”
He said arguably, a smaller portion of Suku-Suku Separuh wouldn’t be healthy if it had insufficient calories, calling for regionally adaptable policies for healthy eating.
“Some people like nasi kerabu, nasi dagang – that’s the East Coast food. If you say that’s not healthy, you’re not going to win anything. But if you can say, how do you make that Suku-Suku Separuh, that’s adapting regional food to healthy objectives,” Azrul said.
“But my point is that it cannot be one size fits all. It needs to be tailored to local tastes and contexts. And most importantly, it needs to be affordable.”
Beyond expanding the scope of Sara, Azrul said the government could also explore integrating SSS principles into the Menu Rahmah programme under the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN), which offers set meals at a maximum price of RM5.
In 2023, it was reported that 1,152 restaurants sold Menu Rahmah meals, excluding more than 300 McDonald’s outlets that offered three RM5 options: a Chicken Burger, Bubur Ayam McD, or a McEgg with a small iced lemon tea.
Supermarket chain Mydin and various mamak restaurants also provided RM5 Menu Rahmah meals, typically consisting of rice, a protein dish (usually fish or chicken), and vegetables.
Survey Methodology
The Galen Centre-UiTM survey, conducted online between July 8 and 28, received 364 valid responses, about 53 per cent of its target sample of 687.
Respondents were drawn from across all states and federal territories, with Selangor contributing the largest number at 101, followed by Kuala Lumpur with 49.
Kedah recorded 28, Perlis 27, and Johor 18. States like Terengganu, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan, Melaka, Sabah, and Sarawak each had between 12 and 18 participants, while Labuan contributed 11.
Nearly half of participants, 45.9 per cent, reported eating at restaurants. Another 22.8 per cent consumed home-cooked meals, while 12.1 per cent bought food from stalls.
