Why is everyone laughing at Yen Yen?
18 September 2009
Now Ng Yen Yen is backing down. But where’s the second part of her secret plan?
2009-09-24
Why is Ng Yen Yen being laughed at all over because she wants to protect the intellectual rights to Malaysian food or their names? Patrick “Niamah” Teoh and his visitors, Malaysiakini subscribers, HartalMSM, to name just a few, think she’s quite a joke. Doesn’t she have a point? Why not support it?
What is uniquely Malaysian should be protected, whether for tourism marketing or, more importantly, for our own pride. What’s wrong with that?
France protects its stuff, too, ferociously — “Champagne” cannot come from California, it can only be called a “sparkling wine”.
Should we laugh at that?
India went to court to protect “basmati” rice — because a sharp American company broke down the DNA of basmati rice and a stupid American judge allowed them to “patent” it. Don’t laugh.
If something is unique to us, let’s protect it. Bak kut teh, yee sang, mee goreng mamak, roti canai, murtabak, roti jala, nasi kandar, Curry Kapitan, inchi kabin, pulut inti, kueh kochi santan, kueh talam, Penang laksa (assam and lemak), pasembor (called “rojak” by stupid KLites), rojak (called “rojak buah” by stupid KLites), Hainanese Chicken Rice (because made by Hainanese), roti bakar (with Planta margarine and kaya), seri kaya, Ampang yong tau foo, lemang, ulam, sambal belacan, cincalok…
Hey there’s a long list of Malaysian stuff that’s unique to Malaysia or adapted by Malaysians. Let’s do something to reclaim our shared heritage.
True, those bloody Singaporeans have masterfully hijacked a boatload of our stuff over 50 years to claim as their own. That doesn’t mean Malaysians should just roll over and let them get away with it.
The problem is of course partly because we have a shared immigrant Chinese and immigrant Indian culture and a shared, but unique, Straits Chinese culture.
The Singaporeans trumpet that Straits culture in their tourism and national literature as their own Peranakan culture while quietly ignoring the Nyonya culture of Malacca and Penang.
And the Malaysian authorities have similarly quietly ignored whatever wasn’t completely “Malay” in the officially-recognised “national culture”.
Ng Yen Yen’s problem, and the problem shared by MCA, Gerakan, DAP, et al, is that Umno’s bullies have insisted that “Malaysian culture” — defined at a so-called “national” congress headed by the bullying Ghazali Shafie after the 1969 riots — must be defined as being based on “Malay” culture.
To Umno, the word “national” means “Malay”. National Chamber of Commerce = Malay Chamber. Etc.
So everything else gets short shrift, even stuff that makes Malaysia truly different. Even though Ampang yong tau foo, for one, cuts across all cultures and is enjoyed by all at food courts everywhere.
Chingay, almost unique to Penang Hokkiens, has been hijacked by sharp Singaporean Hokkiens and Teochews for tourism purposes in their Chinese New Year parades. Did the Malaysian authorities make any attempt to protect that? Or to promote it?
If Ng Yen Yen is now making a belated attempt to recapture our shared heritage, she should be given support. Not laughed at.
Or do we want to remain second-class to uppity thieving Singaporeans all the time?
© 2009 uppercaise
updated 2009-09-24
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sha1sum:330067861937ab6649f94e42b41d2c81b60ec6b4
Entry Filed under: Journalism, Politics. Tags: culture, heritage.
1.
Ng Yen Yen 27 September 2009 at 12:19
all food is made in malaysia
because we are plagiators !!
2.
Ng Yen Yen 27 September 2009 at 12:17
iam IDIOT !!
3.
iose (Indonesia) 28 September 2009 at 03:56
hahahahhahaha now u know that ur a true idiot
4.
iose (Indonesia) 27 September 2009 at 05:04
dear Malaysians…..
Dont forget that those claims yen is making, would really influence how the World would see Malaysia. How the world would see Malaysian specifically. Use a lowest integrity and we all can see that it is a bullsh#t to claim HAINANESE Chicken Rice, isnt it? and dont you know that Roti Canai, Murtabak, roti jala are originated cousine of Indian, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and surroundings? Furthermore, please dont forget that malaysia share Malay cousine with country like Indonesia, Brunei and Southern Thailand to Laos and Cambodia.
What Yen claimed might just influence Malaysia’s relationship to other Asian countries like Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, China and India. Did yen ever think of the consequences to this claiming things? or she was just trying to do good to her country, show you people that she is working well as a Tourism Ministry?
Damn, i think your goverment should consider of firing such a minister, or else.. we dont know, how would the world react to this ’small’ matter.
A Nuclear is a small in size item yet big in impact!
5.
iose (Indonesia) 27 September 2009 at 05:10
please remember on how the tari pendet issue, which almost make Malaysia lost its intellectual rights on the national anthem of Negaraku.
6.
uppercaise 27 September 2009 at 16:23
Don’t forget to read No stomach for the real food fight? about the international implications.
7.
uppercaise 21 September 2009 at 18:51
And then according to Lim Guan Eng maybe we can’t say Penang Hokkien mee or Penang laksa also? Otherwise people think the mee or laksa is made by Gomen. Like that how?
8.
google 19 September 2009 at 04:10
OK then let us start the list with Hainanese Chicken Rice.
9.
ong 20 September 2009 at 04:25
The problem is that before being allowed to patent “Hainanese Chicken Rice”, you first need to get permission of Chinese government for use of the name “Hainanese”.