part 4 of the food claim rant

Ms Politician, ppl are making fun of us, no thanks to you.... actually, more like, ppl are making fun of you. seriously, are u a dumbass or wat??

The Electric New Paper :

M'sian's Crab Grab

STREET TALK
What next? Pay royalties for nasi lemak?
BRUDDER, don't be like dat, lah.
By Sylvia Toh Paik Choo
19 September 2009

BRUDDER, don't be like dat, lah.

You already got Penang Laksa, let us keep, lah, our Singapore Laksa.

That was my knee-jerk reaction when I heard the fuss and furore over the chilli-crab-is-mine-chicken-rice-also- mine report.

But hang on a minute - let's think this over, leaving indignation and misguided pride outside the hotpot.

First, if all these dishes are part of Malaysia's assets, then it is not to be laughed at, because it is a smart move to lay claim to them (France's president has put in a request with Unesco to have French gastronomy on its world heritage list.).

Today you can claim patents on software, biotech, funny-shaped rubberbands and paperclips even, out of respect for intellectual property.

But how do you stake ownership on something cultural and transnational?

Also, how in the name of Kajang satay are you going to implement this?

It's virtually impossible.

It's almost like they want to claim for their own dishes that are in the public domain.

Or is it? Tonight when I eat my $3.50 nasi lemak, will the hawker have to put aside 35 cents for Malaysia's tourism minister?

Tourism is a service and hospitality industry. It is based on 'welcome' and 'friendship' and 'smiles' and a my-house-is-your-house kind of core values.

Not the bah kut teh man having to pay royalties, surely, because of a copyright stamp in a corner of his stall with a Malaysia trademark sticker?

How do you get off saying what you thought was culturally yours is actually mine?

The jury will always be out on the best mee rebus, the crispiest prata, the longest yew char kuay - oops, sorry, this one you can actually measure when push comes to shove.

But to actually plant your flag through a banana leaf plate of coconut rice and call it yours, you know what, aiyah, you can keep it.

You know who I truly feel sorry for?

It's those Katong laksa shops, each proclaiming theirs is the genuine original. Sorry hor sister, it's Malaysia's.

by the way, i find this article highly entertaining :D