Penang Councillor Appalled With Food Served At Quarantine Hotel

The councillor, Nicholas Theng, took to Facebook yesterday, 31 August, to highlight the issue after receiving several photos from a friend who is currently being quarantined at a local hotel on the island.

He said the food being served to her was "borderline atrocious".

"I am truly saddened and angry to find out on our National Day today of how appalling the food served at quarantine centres in Penang are," he wrote.

He said there were times that his friend was served fish curry with only the fish head and chicken curry with just tiny strips of meat in it.

"Each person in quarantine is served three meals a day, with a combination of one soup, one type of vegetable, one type of meat, one fruit, and white rice. However, it is clearly shown that the meat is naught but bone," he said.

"To make things worse, vegetarians are served just spring rolls, vegetable soup, and white rice for some meals."

"Such a meal does not even qualify for the minimum nutritional value to be considered proper. How is this considered even remotely acceptable by our Ministry of Health (MOH)?"

"The rakyat are paying RM2,100 for 14 days, it is the Federal's responsibility to ensure that the three meals served are not just bones, soup, and curry," he continued.

"That is equivalent to RM150 a day, more than enough to cover the cost of a proper meal!"

He added that these meals were substandard compared to the meals being given in Kuala Lumpur, despite paying the same amount.

"Is the government trying to bully the Penang people because we are an opposition state?" he questioned.

"They should not be forced to suffer like this just because someone somewhere is making easy money."

"Food, shelter, and clothing are the basic needs of a human being," he said, adding that the poor meals could amount to "both physical and mental torture" to the people in quarantine who have no other options but to consume the food that is served to them.