KUALA LUMPUR – Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has hit back at Umno’s youth chief for demanding his resignation over naming bak kut teh as a Malaysian heritage food.
Tiong said if Akmal Salleh wanted respect, he should learn to respect others first by stopping his racial rhetoric over bak kut teh, which he reminded is not exclusively made with pork.
“Akmal has many times referred to bak kut teh as ‘pig’. ‘Bak’ means meat in general, not just pork. I suggest Akmal refer to the dictionary if he is not sure of the definition.
“If you don’t know, don’t act like you know everything! Don’t embarrass the country…especially your own party,” Tiong said in a Facebook post tonight.
Yesterday, Akmal called for Tiong’s resignation, urging Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to remove him over the ministry’s decision to recognise bak kut teh as a heritage food.
Akmal said such a decision had failed to take into account Muslims’ sensitivities over pork.
However, Tiong said Akmal should first know that bak kut teh is not exclusive to pork, and that other meat can be used in the dish.
“It can be cooked with any type of meat. The basic ingredient of this soup is just herbs. I want to stress again and warm Umno Youth leaders, stop mixing racism with extreme politics. Let’s respect and understand each other, let’s not arbitrarily confuse people.
“If you want respect, respect others first. For example, you eat beef but there are (followers of) other religions who can’t eat meat. Would you force that person to eat it to satisfy yourself?”
Tiong said as a “sane Malaysian”, the decision to name bak kut teh a heritage food was never meant to force people to break their religious rules or practices.
“We should all respect each other and promote our country’s heritage. If not our own, who else will acknowledge our heritage? Isn’t diversity and togetherness the uniqueness of Malaysia?” the minister added.
The ministry’s heritage commission last week granted bak kut teh, kuih lapis, kuih karas, Sarawak kolok mee, utthapam, dodol kukus tahi minyak and nasi ambeng, among other foods heritage status.
Last year, Tiong gave former tourism minister and former Dewan Negara president Tan Sri Rais Yatim the same story about bak kut teh not being exclusively a pork dish after Rais expressed concerns on the proposal to name it as a heritage food. – February 29, 2024