Malaysians love food, this is an undisputable fact. But, recently, there was a tiff over choosing bak kut teh as a national heritage dish, and many aren’t happy with the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia, Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, including UMNO Youth chief Akmal Saleh.
Just last week, the Tourism Department released a list of dishes to be named as national heritage dishes. To the surprise of many, bak kut teh made the list. Needless to say, the suggestion left the UMNO Youth chief incensed to the point of calling for Tiong King Sing’s removal as a Minister.
Just yesterday (29th February), Akmal Saleh made on post on Facebook calling out Dato Sri Tiong King Sing for his poor suggestion to put bak kut teh on the national heritage dish list. “If the minister cannot think about the sensitivities of the Malaysian people and its relevance in making decisions, it’s time we request PMX Anwar Ibrahim to fire the minister,” he said.
Akmal also pointed out how Tiong King Sing had demoted Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board (Tourism Malaysia) director-general Datuk Ammar Abd Ghapar recently. Reportedly, Datuk Ammar had been demoted for his poor performance. “So, the same reasoning can be applied to a minister who is not only deteriorating, but the worst minister in history,” he added scathingly.
The UMNO Youth chief had his own suggestions for the list, which he freely shared. “Instead of recognizing bak kut teh as (a) national heritage dish, it is better to recognize other foods like Chinese fried rice and moreover, food that can be eaten by all citizens of this country regardless of race or religion,” he stated. Akmal also suggested the minister hand in his own resignation.
Netizens have since voiced agreement about Akmal Saleh’s thoughts, with some praising him for considering everyone. “(I) agree YB, fire the ministers who aren’t sensitive to citizens, maybe he forgot he’s staying in Malaysia,” one said. But, others wondered why he was only speaking up about the matter a week later.
Reportedly, this isn’t the first time there have been attempts to make bak kut teh a national heritage dish, allegedly to avoid others claiming it. However, we do hope the local dishes chosen for the list will be ones everyone will be able to eat, regardless of religion or race.
Sources: Facebook, China Press
