{
  "id": 5233446,
  "title": "Ex-MP calls for national meals plan in 2027 budget after stunting stats",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/ex-mp-calls-for-national-meals-plan-in-2027-budget-after-stunting-5233446",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-03T03:06:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/09/03/ex-mp-calls-for-national-meals-plan-in-2027-budget-after-stunting-stats"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former Klang MP Charles Santiago has urged the Malaysian government to include a national meals plan in the 2027 budget to address child stunting. Santiago, who served as MP for three terms, stated that no Malaysian child should be denied a healthy growth opportunity due to unaffordable nutritious meals. Stunting, defined as a child being too short for their age, is usually a result of chronic undernutrition or repeated illness, which can impact brain development, learning, health, and future earnings. He emphasized that stunting should be treated as a cost-of-living issue, as households often have to compromise on nutritious food when stretched to their financial limits. Santiago highlighted that Malaysia's under-five stunting rate rose from 11.3% in 2011 to 20.7% in 2016, with Unicef's latest estimate remaining high at 22% nationally. He urged the government to recognize child stunting as a critical national concern and warned that rising malnutrition among young children poses a threat to long-term human and economic development.",
  "summary": "Charles Santiago says stunting should be treated as a cost-of-living issue.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Ex-MP calls for national meals plan in 2027 budget after stunting stats",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/ex-mp-calls-for-national-meals-plan-in-2027-budget-after-stunting",
        "published": "2026-09-03T03:06:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Malaysiakini",
        "title": "SNAPSHOT | Ex-MP wants meal plan in Budget to combat child stunting; weak earthquake in Sabah",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/snapshot-ex-mp-wants-meal-plan-in-budget-to-combat-child-stunting",
        "published": "2026-09-03T06:00:07.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}