A group of leaders from DAP enjoyed bak kut teh in Klang, Selangor, this morning in support of the government's initiative to include the Chinese dish as one of the national heritage foods.
To emphasise that bak kut teh is not just a pork dish, they requested the chicken and vegetarian versions alongside the traditional one.
Journalists were invited to join them for the meal at Yeoh Bak Kut Teh restaurant at the Klang Hokkien Association before the press conference.
After the meal, they posed with thumbs-up for the journalists to take photos.
Those present included DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, Klang MP V Ganabatirau, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng, Bandar Baru Klang assemblyperson Dr Quah Perng Fei and Klang Bak Kut Teh Association representative Benjamin Tan.
Several local councillors and party workers were also in attendance.
Tan said bak kut teh has evolved with many different variations such as seafood, reflecting the multiculturalism of Malaysia.
He appreciated that the Madani government made the move to designate bak kut teh as a national heritage food, which he believed would boost Klang tourism as well as the bak kut teh industry.
“It’s not just the Chinese community, we have so many people enjoying bak kut teh," he added.
Ganabatirau said Klang is proud and honoured to be bak kut teh’s place of origin and expressed hope that all people would learn to appreciate and accept the country’s multiculturalism.
The people of Klang, whether Indian or Chinese, eat bak kut teh at least once a month and for some, it’s a daily routine, he said in describing how much the dish is part of the community.
The Klang MP also lauded the acceptance and appreciation of the cultural diversity in his constituency.
Usage of 'bak'
Lip Eng stressed that all MPs should stop playing with words and focus on improving the economy.
He pointed out that if the word bak (meat) in bak kut teh is controversial, then murtabak and kebab would also trigger discussions.
“As a politician and a representative, we shouldn't focus on the ‘bak’.
“If ‘bak’ is an issue what's next?" he said.
While Indonesia is a Muslim country, he said Bali has listed babi guling as a national culinary heritage for the sake of the country's economy.
He believes that the same applies to bak kut teh as it can attract tourists to Malaysia and boost the economy.
PAS no longer opposed to bak kut teh
Kok claimed that after she reminded a PAS MP of the time the Islamist party served halal bak kut teh in several by-elections six years ago, PAS no longer has a problem with the dish.
"After I brought up the fact that they were using halal bak kut teh for election in 2018, saying that it would promote national unity, another PAS MP just said that the party had no objection to bak kut teh, as long as it was halal.
"That argument turned right back around and you can see that from the day I brought it up in Parliament, they never opposed bak kut teh again," she said.
Kok added that there are more than 200 types of national heritage foods and bak kut teh is not the only non-halal one.
Meanwhile, Kit Siang reminded that the most important thing for Malaysia is to be united and look to the future.
“We want Malaysians to be able to unite rather than be divided and the bak kut teh issue is a good lesson for Malaysia.
“We must look forward, we must not look backwards so that we can unite our race, culture, and religion," the veteran leader said. - Mkini
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