The Galen Centre is urging Malaysia to require all eateries to provide free drinking water to help reduce obesity, diabetes and sugary drink consumption.
PETALING JAYA: With obesity rates at crisis levels in Malaysia, a public health think tank is calling for a mandatory free water policy at all eateries to make water the healthier and more accessible default beverage.
The Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy yesterday urged the government and local authorities to introduce legislation or licensing requirements mandating all restaurants, cafés, food courts, mamak shops and fast-food outlets to provide drinking water to customers free of charge.
Its chief executive officer Azrul Mohd Khalib described the proposal as a simple, practical and low-cost public health measure aimed at curbing the nation’s rising non-communicable disease (NCD) burden.
“In a country facing a worsening obesity and NCD crisis, plain drinking water must be made the easiest, most accessible and most affordable choice,” Azrul said in a statement yesterday.
He said Malaysia’s health challenges are driven not only by excessive food intake but also by the widespread consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.
Citing the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2023, he highlighted that more than half of all Malaysian adults (54.4%) are either overweight or obese, while one in five is living with diabetes.
The survey found that one in five adults does not consume enough plain water daily.
“When free water is not readily available, especially when it is priced highly, customers are nudged towards sugar-sweetened beverages, flavoured drinks, carbonated drinks, milk teas, juices and other high-calorie options,” Azrul said.
According to the think tank, this environment disproportionately affects children, adolescents, low-income families and shift workers who frequently eat outside the home.
While a free water mandate would not solve the NCD crisis in isolation, Azrul argued that it serves as an essential baseline measure to signal that water is the default beverage rather than an optional extra.
He said the proposed initiative draws inspiration from international models such as Spain, the United Kingdom, Australia and India, where regulatory frameworks already ensure access to free drinking water in licensed food premises.
The Galen Centre is now calling on the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Housing and Local Government and state authorities to integrate this requirement into business licensing and food-handling certifications.
“Customers should not have to pay extra just to choose the healthiest drink. It is practical, affordable and fair. Let’s make the healthy choice the easy choice,” Azrul said.
The NHMS 2023 notes that the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased by 10 percentage points since 2011.
Beyond dietary factors, the report links these health outcomes to high rates of sedentary lifestyles, with one in two adults spending more than two hours a day in sedentary activities and 95% of adults failing to consume the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables.
