KUALA KRAI: Poverty has forced a family of five in Kampung Tengah here to scavenge for scraps of chicken skin and leftovers at a school canteen here to fill their bellies.
Housewife Siti Hamidah Abdul Aziz, 32, said the chicken skin could be fried with other ingredients and eaten with rice and soya sauce.
“It is just a side dish, but we are poor and cannot afford to buy a whole chicken.
“I will collect the food waste with my three children from a school about 200m away from the house.”
Her eldest daughter Siti Aisyah, 8, is studying at the school, SK Tengah. Her other children are Norsyayidah Nafisah, 6, and Nor Syafiya Nadira, 3.
“The discarded chicken skin has its own flavour and is good eating,” she said.
Her husband Mohd Zuhaidi Shafin, 33, a carpenter, earns RM300 a week.
“My husband is the sole breadwinner in the family. His income is hardly sufficient to make ends meet.
“My children understand our situation and do not mind eating chicken skin every day,” she said, adding that they did not receive any financial assistance other than 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) payouts.