PARLIAMENT | Teresa Kok (Harapan-Seputeh) has reminded a PAS MP of the time the Islamist party served halal bak kut teh in several by-elections six years ago.
She told Salamiah Mohd Nor (PN-Temerloh) that PAS had served lamb kut teh and chik kut teh - variations of the dish made of lamb and chicken respectively instead of pork.
According to her, the events were organised by PAS women's wing information chief Dr Najihatussalehah Ahmad, who once headed the PAS National Unity Bureau.
“I am not sure if Temerloh had participated in the (events organised by) PAS women's wing information bureau because she is outspoken against bak kut teh as a heritage food.
“I hope that the young leaders in the government can learn from Najihatussalehah who promoted halal bak kut teh to foster national unity,” Kok said in her speech debating the royal address in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Earlier, Salamiah expressed shock at the tourism minister labelling bak kut teh as a national heritage food, calling the matter a sensitive issue for Muslims due to Islam being the federal religion.
She requested an explanation from the minister, saying that there were plenty of other dishes that could be accepted by all races.
Don’t lose out to others
Kok argued for Malaysia to claim bak kut teh ahead of Singapore.
“If we do not make our claim that bak kut teh was created by Malaysians then our neighbouring country will make their claim and tourists will be unaware that it is a dish that originated in Klang,” she said.
Later, Parit Buntar MP Mohd Misbahul Munir Masduki clarified that there would be no issues with bak kut teh if it were truly halal.
He said that during one event, Najihatussalehah introduced bak kut teh with soup made from mutton bones.
He added that he would eat mutton-based bak kut teh with Kok if she were to treat them to it.
Besides that, Kok said that a reason to include different dishes in the national heritage food list is to attract tourists, particularly those from East Asia.
Citing statistics from the Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association, Kok said that over 100,000 tourists from China had visited Malaysia from Feb 5 onwards ahead of Chinese New Year festivities.
“In this time, there were 5,000 tour groups and these tourists spent between RM1 billion and RM1.5 billion in our country,” she said.
One of the attractions Malaysia has for these tourists from China is the country’s multilingual and multicultural society as well as its diverse foods, she added.
Kok pointed out that Malaysia also has to compete with other countries in Southeast Asia for tourists.
Backlash against Tiong
Last Thursday, Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh called for Tourism Minister Tiong King Sing’s head to roll following several issues including adding the pork-based dish to the list of heritage foods.
The government recently added 10 delicacies to the country’s list of gazetted heritage foods, including burasak, uthappam, and bak kut teh.
Last year, there was a heated debate in Parliament over a suggestion that bak kut teh, among others, be recognised as a national dish.
Deputy Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Khairul Firdaus Khan and Langkawi MP Suhaimi Abdullah both objected to bak kut teh being recognised due to it being a non-halal dish.
However, Tiong defended the suggestion, saying Malaysians must learn to celebrate the diversity of the traditional dishes of all races.
He also said while bak kut teh is commonly made using pork, there are also non-pork versions using seafood, chicken, and mutton. - Mkini
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