Presma not for shortening of operation hours

Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) president, Noorul Hassan Saul Hameed is against the belief that 24-hour restaurants are the main cause of obesity among Malaysians.

He said the national body was against the government's proposal to monitor 24-hour outlets with the possibility of shortening their operating hours.

"We are shocked and totally disagree with this proposal. Restaurants that operate 24-hours a day are not the cause of obesity.

"What's important is what the customers choose to eat," he said.

Noorul Hassan disclosed that Presma has been working with the Health Ministry in coming up with healthy options for patrons to choose.

Meanwhile, Sime Darby Medical Centre (Ara Damansara) nutritionist Nurul Aziah Musa said, Malaysians need to change their eating habits to prevent them from becoming obese.

"There is no doubt that eating late has been a habit for Malaysians, especially those from urban areas.

"This (eating late) is not a problem on the condition that they eat the right food," she said.

Aziah urged Malaysians to adopt a healthy lifestyle by following the food pyramid chart when choosing what to eat daily.

"Each meal should follow the food pyramid concept. For example, a person needs a lot of carbohydrates, proteins such as fish or chicken as well as plenty of fibre from vegetables and plenty of fruit with each meal."

They duo's comments were featured during Bulletin Awani 7:45 on Tuesday in a discussion on the possibility of limiting the 24- hour restaurant operation to control obesity among Malaysians .