KUCHING: There needs to be a new approach to prevent continuous food wastage, especially during the month of Ramadan, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar. He said among the factors contributing to food wastage during the fasting month was that about 50% of the buffet spread at hotels were thrown away just like that (after the breaking-of-fast meal) although the patrons had paid a high price for the buffet. "There should be a new approach and rule to reduce such wastage, for example, untouched leftover food from the buffet can be given away to others in need instead of simply discarding it," reported Bernama. Wan Junaidi said this when asked to comment on the suggestion by social activist Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye for the government to hold awareness programmes to curb food wastage. Yesterday, Lee said that studies conducted by Solid Waste Management and Urban Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) showed that Malaysians wasted about 17,800 tonnes of food daily. Earlier, Wan Junaidi who is also Santubong member of parliament, handed out Ramadan welfare aid to 810 recipients including the elderly, orphans and the disabled from the Seberang Hilir and Santubong zones. Meanwhile, in Petaling Jaya, consumers have been urged to change their eating habits to avoid wastage and keep their health in check during the fasting month. “We have made the same repeated calls to the public but it is not heeded. If their buying and eating habits do not change immediately, it will affect them in the long term. “Their habits and lifestyle must start at home, or at best, as an individual by being aware and sensitive as to how much is being spent,” said Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM) head activist Datuk Nadzim Johan yesterday when asked to comment on the preparations made for Ramadhan. He also noted although prices for food sold at Ramadhan bazaars generally were high, he advised the public to be prudent when purchasing. “It does not make a difference, generally speaking, if the food prices are high or low, consumers will still buy it (because of unchanged habits). This is one of the main problems which needs to be addressed by them. Instead of following the flow, be a smart consumer and find an alternative,” he said. Additionally, he said that PPIM has detected two areas in the Klang Valley where 1kg cooking oil were not made available. "The areas are Kota Damansara and Sg. Buloh. We do not know why this is occurring, but we wish to stress for distributors to resolve the issue. We will collect more information and present it to the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry soon,” he added.
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