Bak kut teh, a popular dish of meat and pork ribs cooked in a broth flavored with various Chinese medicinal herbs, was added to a growing list of the country’s heritage foods in an official gazette on Feb. 23, along with nine others dishes, the Straits Times reported.
However, netizens in Malaysia, where Muslims who abstain from pork make up more than 60 percent of the population, are questioning whether the dish deserves national recognition, saying a national heritage dish should be able to be consumed by all people. races and all religions.
“Should a pork-based soup become a heritage dish in a Muslim-majority country? » asked a user.
A user on consume it.
According to a Malaysian news publication The staropposition MP Rosol Wahid also expressed concerns about the likelihood of this move “[touching] on religious sensitivities.
He urged the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture to explain the decision.
United Malaysians National Organization youth leader Muhammad Akmal Saleh also expressed his outrage in a Facebook post, accusing Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing of failing to deliver takes into account “the sensitivity of the Malaysian people”.
“It was better to recognize other cultural dishes that can be consumed by all citizens of Malaysia, regardless of race or religion. For example, Chinese fried rice,” Muhammad added.
However, some netizens supported the choice of bak kut teh, saying that since this dish was created in Malaysia, it should definitely be part of the country’s heritage.
Another argued that bak kut teh is popular with foreign tourists who flock to Malaysia to try it.
It is widely believed that bak kut teh was introduced to Malaysia, specifically the Klang region, by early immigrants from the Fujian province of China.
More than half of Malaysia’s population is of the Islamic faith, which prohibits the consumption of pork.
