By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, March 1: Minister of Tourism Dato Seri Tiong King Sing slammed Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh for his ‘extreme racial politics’ views that could impact country unity.
Tiong, in a statement yesterday (Feb 29), said it is not the first time that Dr Akmal has played out such issues, which seems to serve a personal political interest.
In response to the Bak Kut Teh issue raised by Akmal recently, which listed the dish as among the ten new heritage foods in Malaysia, the word ‘Bak’ refers to meat in general.
“I have reiterated and emphasised that the herbs used in the dish soup are also halal. The meat can be changed.
“If chicken meat is used, then it will be called ‘Chi Kut Teh’. If seafood is used, it will be called ‘Seafood Kut Teh’; the same goes for goat meat, it will be called ‘Kambing Kut Teh’,” he explained.
Tiong said Akmal’s understanding of the word ‘Bak’ is incorrect as he claimed it to be a pork-based dish.
He also advised Akmal to understand the word’s actual definition with a dictionary instead of embarrassing himself.
“As a leader of the younger generation, you should evaluate and analyse before speaking to a large audience.
“Don’t be like the opposition or extremist groups. Don’t make up baseless stories. You are one of the EXCOs in Melaka; don’t embarrass yourself,” he added.
Recently, Akmal Saleh has called for Tiong to step down, including urging for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to dismiss the Bintulu MP as Tourism Minister following the pork-based dish Bak Kut Teh being included in the country’s list of heritage foods, as well as the demotion of Tourism Malaysia director-general Ammar Abd Ghapar. — DayakDaily
