Whose food is it anyway?

[source: the Star online]

* * * *
Thursday Sept 17, 2009

Laksa and nasi lemak among our pride, says Yen Yen

by TEH ENG HOCK

KUALA LUMPUR: Laksa, nasi lemak and bak kut teh — these are some of the food Malaysia will lay claim to.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said there were many dishes synonymous with Malaysia’s identity but they had been “hijacked” by other countries.

“We cannot continue to let other countries hijack our food. Chilli crab is Malaysian. Hainanese chicken rice is Malaysian. We have to lay claim to our food,” she told reporters after launching the Malaysia International Gourmet Festival yesterday.

The festival, which runs throughout October, is part of the Fabulous Food 1Malaysia campaign. November’s part of the campaign will centre around shopping mall food, while street and heritage food will be the highlight in December.

“In the three months, we will identify certain key dishes (to declare as Malaysian). We have identified laksa ... all types of laksa, nasi lemak and bak kut teh,” she said.

When asked how the ministry would go about labelling the dishes Malaysian after identifying them, Dr Ng said she would reveal her strategy at a later stage.

“That is Part Two. We cannot reveal it yet, but we will let you know soon,” she said.

* * * *

It's bad enough that the Indonesians don't like us, now the government wants to pick a fight with Singapore too? I may not love everything that is "Uniquely Singapore" but staking claims on food is downright ridiculous. We're happy to share our history with Singapee, Indon, Brunei and everyone else in the good ol' South of the E to the A for Asia (it's all about the gangsta yuuhhh!!!), so what's wrong with extending it to cuisine? You know what else, the Malay Mail asked a couple of people what they thought about Datuk Ng Yen Yen's suggestion and 80% of them were like HELL YEAH we should protect our food!!!!!!! Seriously, I just cannot see the point in giving certain dishes a Malaysian stamp of authenticity. It's not like it's going to boost tourism or improve the living standards of the community or reduce crime or extinguish political corruption. Besides, Hainanese chicken rice was brought in by the (China) Chinese so how can we call it our own? In any case the government had better not declare chicken rice to be a national dish. That would just put us to shame cos I can guaran-damn-tee you that Singapore has the best chicken rice this side of the South China Sea.

B is for Bak kut teh [image source: wikipedia]

Thank you my forefathers for bringing this humble dish to our shores. I am eternally grateful.