The chart outlining monthly food expenses released on social media by the Prime Minister’s Office Community Communication Bureau (J-KOM) has received harsh criticism from netizens, with many labeling it “extremely flawed.”
Ija Juhari, a Facebook user with over 20,000 followers, revealed her most recent supermarket receipt, revealing that she had already spent RM800 on essential housekeeping products alone.
According to Ija, a single box of infant formula costs RM378, and two boxes are normally needed each month. Each month, two packets of baby diapers are required. As a result, the monthly costs for a newborn alone reach RM800.
Ija jokingly attacked J-KOM, claiming that their recent social media information chart showed that a family of four spends roughly RM397 on groceries each month, whereas a single person’s expenses are computed at RM228. These computations, she thought, were entirely “out of touch with reality” and even amusing.
She remarked that the chart appeared to imply that the minimum pay of RM1,500 is sufficient to meet a family of four’s monthly food expenses, but the quantities of listed goods were generally nonsensical. A normal household, for example, would require at least 70 eggs each month, not simply 30, as indicated by J-KOM.
“If they claim that the monthly food expenses are around RM300 to create the illusion that Malaysians have enough income, it’s truly speechless.”
She also mentioned that many of the prices in the chart were unrealistic. For example, the price of a petrol cylinder was originally listed as RM19, but after netizens rectified it, it was amended to RM25.80.
“A gas cylinder for only RM19? Please share the contact details of this merchant; I would like to buy from them, no matter where they are located. Even the revised price of RM25.80 is cheap; it’s already RM30 per cylinder here in Seremban.”
The public outcry underlines the disparity between the chart’s depiction of affordable food expenses and the reality experienced by Malaysian households, highlighting concerns about rising costs and income adequacy for everyday necessities.
