One of the most beloved dishes in Malaysia is Nasi Kandar which originated from Penang. There are plenty of variations of the popular dish but have you heard one that is served with pork?
It appears that a certain local restaurant has been under fire after people found out that they were serving pork with their Nasi Kandar dish but it may not be all that it seems. Here’s why:
*berhati² mencari makan Nasi Kandar Mamak dah ada sediakan lauk babi* pic.twitter.com/xi8hHbD95H
— HaQ (@ShariAwang4) October 29, 2023
On Sunday (29th October), a video that has been circulating on social media showed an influencer trying out the Nasi Kandar dish at a restaurant called Pumbaa’s Nasi Lemak and Nasi Kandar in Damansara Jaya. What shocked netizens after watching the video was the fact the dish was served with pork. The content creator made several pork-related puns throughout the video through the text captions.
The video sparked concern and outrage among some Muslim netizens who were flabbergasted by how the restaurant was even able to do business selling pork-mixed Nasi Kandar dishes so openly. The post also attracted the attention of the Persatuan Pengusaha Restoran Muslim Malaysia (PRESMA) where its president, Datuk Jawahar Ali Taib Khan said that the act of mixing pork in Nasi Kandar is a disgrace to the dish.
“PRESMA thinks that it will cause confusion for customers and Nasi Kandar fans in this country as well as give a negative image to this much-loved menu,” he said in a statement. The president also emphasised that the Nasi Kandar dishes at all premises owned by PRESMA members throughout the country are guaranteed to be halal.
After the news broke out, many netizens came to the restaurant’s defence by saying that the establishment has made it clear that they serve non-halal dishes, which should not confuse any Muslim. The restaurant’s name was already a dead giveaway of its content since it was inspired by the character Pumba, a warthog from the 1994 hit movie “The Lion King”.
In another statement released by PRESMA, the association has urged the government to ban businesses from using Nasi Lemak and Nasi Kandar in the name of the dishes if they contain non-halal ingredients. It was said that the Ministry of Social Solidarity would contact these non-halal food establishments to remove the words Nasi Lemak and Nasi Kandar from the menu to avoid any confusion.
Sources: Twitter (1)(2), HMetro, China Press
