The popular Chinese pork rib dish bak kut teh, whose possible recognition as a Malaysian heritage food was raised in Parliament, has found a defender in the form of Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing.
The Bintulu MP said he has instructed his officials to explore recognising bak kut teh as a traditional Malaysian heritage food and noted how different versions with other ingredients have emerged.
"Bak kut teh initially started with pork, but of course, after the trend became popular, there are different types of bak kut teh coming out.
“There are bak kut teh seafood, ayam (chicken), kambing (mutton). Of course, there are herbs as the base, then we add seafood, so we get bak kut teh seafood,” he added.
Speaking at a press conference today, Tiong (above) said Malaysians must learn to celebrate the diversity of the traditional dishes of all races.
"I think we must open up, we must be open-minded, not think so much about it as halal or non-halal. Can it be touched or not?
"I want to emphasise that my ministry will pay attention to all traditional foods of every ethnic group in the country equally,” he added.
The minister also suggested encouraging Malaysians to taste the different versions of the dish.
“I am going to tell the ministry to look into this very seriously. Of course, bak kut teh (in the traditional dish) is pork, we can ask (non-Muslims) to ‘test’.
“If it is bak kut teh with chicken or seafood, we can ask all the rakyat to test,” he added.
Cultural integration
In a social media post earlier, Tiong had vowed to work hard to promote Malaysian traditional food in the international arena with the aim of showcasing the nation’s cultural integration.
"Bak kut teh is also a special dish. We need to look from the perspective of the contents and the way it is prepared, not just from the perspective of race and religion.
"If they politicise this food issue, it will soon turn into incitement resulting in racial and religious divisions. This action could affect ethnic and religious unity in the country," he added.
Tiong also defended his deputy Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan’s previous response to a Perikatan Nasional lawmaker on the issue in Parliament.
As for the ingredients, Tiong cited examples of how certain changes can be made to make it palatable to all.
"For example, the Hokkien noodles containing pig fat oil can be changed to chicken fat oil so that more people can enjoy it,” he added.
Tiong said his ministry’s aim is to incorporate as much culture as possible from the different ethnic groups in Malaysia so that foreigners can learn more about the cultures in this nation.
"Every ethnic culture has its own historical value, I sincerely hope that we all can continue to preserve this,” he added. - Mkini
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