Banning 24-hour eateries may actually be a good thing

If I had heard the proposal to ban 24-hour eateries and restaurants, say five or six years ago, I would have been enraged.

Surely people like me and others who work on shifts, and anyone who likes to hang out at such eateries for that matter, deserve such convenience.

Those who finish work after midnight would prefer to eat out at a mamak restaurant rather than cooking a meal at home. Movie time or pub-going activities usually ends at a mamak stall or a Nasi Kandar shop.

The 24-hour eatery has become part of Malaysia’s unique culture.

But now I’m not so sure.

Although the Prime Minister subsequently binned the idea of any ban, the whole fiasco actually made me rethink our eating habits from a health perspective.

What we eat and when we eat are matters we must consciously decide.

First of all, why do we need to go out at 2am for a plate of nasi goreng or Maggi soup? Such meals can be prepared at home, healthier and much cheaper.

Secondly, is it even healthy to eat so late?

I am not suggesting we go to bed on an empty stomach but surely some bread and cheese or a glass of milk would be adequate for an easy late night meal.

A friend of mine from Chennai once said Malaysians are just lazy. He said instead of whipping up something healthy at home, we take the easy way out.

He pointed out how some working mothers here resort to giving their children money to buy their own meals because they don’t cook at home after work.

I have to agree. I have seen how the people in India prepare simple, quick meals at home. Many bring food from home to work in tiffin boxes.

It is not an alien concept in Malaysia as years ago, people brought their own food to school or the workplace.

But of course, such ideas may not be feasible to those who live in rented rooms where cooking is not allowed.

How then?

Just eat early or tapau lah.

In the end, it’s all about choices.