Malaysian content creator and digital marketer Zatul Iffah, based in Melbourne, Australia, recently shared a video on her TikTok page, @zatul.iffah that has grabbed attention.
In the video, she reveals the groceries she bought with just AUD50 (around RM155).
Photo via TikTok (@zatul.iffah)
Iffah lists the items she purchased, which included a variety of groceries like turmeric, grapes, ground beef, fish, peaches, bananas, kiwis, sweet potatoes, oyster sauce, cabbage, spinach, kuey teow, and tom yam paste.
In total, she spent AUD 49.70 at her local supermarket.
The video sparked huge interest online, with many amazed at how much she could buy with AUD50 in Melbourne. Some joked that in Malaysia, RM50 would barely cover a bag of rice and scrambled eggs.
However, some pointed out that the comparison might not be fair until you consider the currency conversion. While AUD50 seems like a lot in Malaysian Ringgit, which would be around RM150, it's possible to get similar groceries for RM50 in Malaysia.
But many Malaysians argued against this, saying that Iffah's intention was to show the difference in purchasing power between the two currencies. Purchasing power refers to what you can buy with a certain amount of money in different places.
"Some people don't understand the concept of money. The comparison is about what you can get with AUD50 in Australia compared to RM50 in Malaysia. Don't convert Australian Dollars to Malaysian Ringgit," one user explained.
The article concludes with the question: Do you think spending 50AUD is the same as spending RM50?
