In Malaysia, trading using vending machines a way for lower income group to avoid handouts

KUALA LUMPUR: Every morning before the rush hour period at transit hub Kuala Lumpur Sentral (KL Sentral), Amiruddin Ahmad Abdul Jalil can be seen placing boxes of food such as curry puffs, kueh lapis, and ketayap - a type of pandan-flavoured rolled crepe - in a red vending machine a few metres away from a McDonald’s restaurant.   

The 28-year-old, who lives in Kuala Lumpur, has been doing this daily for almost three months before he heads off to his regular job at a private firm.  

Each box is sold for RM2 (US$0.43), with peak sales occurring when the transportation hub is filled with commuters on their way to work.   

In the evenings, Amiruddin goes back to KL Sentral to fill the machine with boxes of mixed rice and sausage buns, which are sold for RM5 and RM3 respectively.  

For his efforts, Amiruddin - who prepares the food with his wife - earns an extra RM4,000 monthly from this programme called the People’s Income Initiative (IPR).

It is helmed by the Ministry of Economy’s economic planning unit.  

“This opportunity has reduced the financial burden of my household,” he told CNA recently.

Launched earlier in February, the initiative is an effort to help the country's poor increase their income by at least RM2,000 each month.

A total of RM750 million has been set aside for the programme under the 2023 budget. 

Amid efforts to increase the financial independence of lower income households in Malaysia, the programme has seen sustained interest from members of the public keen to better their livelihoods. 

GOVERNMENT FOOTS VENDING MACHINE RENTAL

During the launch of the IPR project back in February, Economic Affairs Minister Rafizi Ramli had termed it a “fishing rod” for people to attain financial independence. 

There are three thrusts to the project - namely the Food Entrepreneur Initiative (Insan), the Agro Entrepreneur Initiative (Intan), and the Services Operator Initiative (Ikhsan). 

Amiruddin is a participant of the Insan initiative, which provides food entrepreneurs with a self-service vending machine to sell food and drinks at strategic locations around the country such as transportation hubs and hospitals. 

He told CNA that he had applied for the initiative online after its launch. 

As part of the initiative, the government pays for the monthly rental of the vending machine for two years, with the entrepreneur earning the profits from their sales. To keep prices affordable for consumers, packs of food sold have a cap of RM5 per box. 

Amiruddin estimates that almost 90 per cent of the food is sold out daily, with the rest given to the homeless or for self-consumption.  

There is a mobile application to monitor and track inventory and sales of the food, with participants able to top up boxes in the vending machines when stocks run low.  

Amiruddin and his wife spend about two to three hours each day preparing the food, with Amiruddin admitting that it was tough at first. He and his wife have, however, gotten used to the routine. 

“There is more continuity and sustainability in this programme compared to direct cash aid. There are many benefits for the community as the traders can earn more income while the public can purchase cheap meals,” he said, adding that he sells about 100 boxes of food a day.  

As of June, over 10,000 people have signed up for the Insan program. 

A total of 100 machines are operating, with the government targeting 5,000 of these machines to be up and running by the end of this year.  

TRADERS GRATEFUL FOR TIME SAVED TO SPEND WITH FAMILY 

Nurul Fatimah Norani, who was allocated a machine at the JB Sentral transportation hub, told CNA that she has benefited from the initiative. 

The single mother of three has seen her income increase by more than 30 per cent compared to when she was working as a cook in a factory.

The 35-year-old used to earn almost RM3,000 a month for her work previously, but can now earn about RM4,000 a month. 

She resigned from her previous job as a cook to concentrate on the vending machine business.
 
“This initiative is very good, especially for someone like me. Your income does depend on how hardworking you are,” the mother of three school-going children told CNA. 

In the morning, she sells breakfast meals such as nasi lemak and friend noodles. She then tops up her vending machine with boxes of mixed rice for the lunchtime crowd. In the evenings, finger foods such as nuggets and sausages are sold. 

Her nasi lemak sells for RM2 while mixed rice - which consists of a portion of white rice, a piece of fried chicken and vegetables - costs RM5.  

She monitors the amount of food in the vending machine via an application on her phone and tops it up when the boxes run out.    

With this initiative, Fatimah told CNA that she has more time with her children as it takes her about two hours to prepare the food at home. She said that she previously did not have any days off when she worked at the factory.  

She added that she is grateful that she does not have to depend on the government for any aid. 

“I don’t want to depend on the government or anyone for any handouts,” she said. 

Similarly Normaladiana Mohd Yazal, 36, said that the initiative has helped her earn an extra RM2,000 to RM3,000 monthly.

The mother of two - who has a vending machine at KL Sentral - said that the boxes of food she places every morning are usually sold out.

She sells banana cakes, nasi lemak, and sausage with eggs and beans among other things. 

Normaladiana, who lives at the low-cost flat in Pantai Dalam, Kuala Lumpur with her husband and two school-going children, said that the initiative is convenient as she does not have to physically be at KL Sentral unless there was an issue with the machine.

“It isn’t difficult. We just place our food there and wait for it to be sold,” said Normaladiana, who also does catering from home when requested.

She added: “This sort of programme should be expanded for more of the lower income people like us.” 

EFFORTS TO HELP THE POOR HAS TO CHANGE WITH THE TIMES: ECONOMIC AFFAIRS MINISTER

At a political rally in Negeri Sembilan earlier this month, Mr Rafizi had touched on the topic of the vending machines, saying that the Opposition had attacked the idea.

In his speech, Mr Rafizi said that in the 70s and 80s, the government had built spaces, provided stalls for people or shops for them to rent.

“The problem now is that the rent now is expensive and space for stalls is limited … So from one decade to another, the effort must change. The poor need a place to conduct business,” he said. 

He added that a stall might cost RM20,000 to be built while space needed to be found in the first place. 

“That is why we figured that there wasn’t a need for any building. We only needed a place to sell as long as that place is convenient for people. 

“Importantly, we wanted to make sure they didn’t have to hire anyone, pay for utilities, and wait there the whole day. Economic-wise, the best way was to give them a vending machine,” he said.

He said that the minimum amount of money the participants of the initiative earned was RM150 to RM200 a day.

“There are those who even earn RM600 a day. Some even RM800 a day,” he said.

CNA has reached out to Mr Rafizi and his ministry for comments on the initiative. 

Read this story in Bahasa Melayu here.