Dorm meals are getting better: Zaqy

Rice, fried chicken, cauliflower, curry and idli (steamed rice cake) - that was yesterday's pre-dawn meal for Muslim foreign workers at Sungei Tengah Lodge.

Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad shared several food photos on Facebook, some with compliments from workers, and addressed concerns some raised about the quality of catered food. He said there were teething issues, but things have gotten better, and are continuing to improve.

By this weekend, the inter-agency task force would have served over 10 million catered meals to all 200,000 workers of more than six nationalities in all 43 purpose-built dorms, he said. Thirty-four caterers are constantly adjusting the meals to take in feedback from workers, with help from employers and 10 like-minded non-governmental organisations with hundreds of volunteers. He urged those with concerns to approach officers on site directly.

Posting on social media to flag a case means officers take time to track it down, and sometimes old photos are circulated, he said. "We do not want to send our officers on a wild goose chase when the time taken could have been better spent in meeting the workers' needs."