Does Penang's Proposed Extension Of The Ban On Foreigners Working As Cooks In All Coffee Shops And Hawkers Centers Smack Of Xenophobia?

 

In Bolehland a/k as The Land of Endless Possibilities otherwise Malaysia, there is this crippling resort to seeing things through the lens of colour or xenophobia.

Ergo equating  Penang's proposed extension of the ban on foreigners working as cooks in all coffee shops and hawkers centers to xenophobia.

The fact is local street and hawker foods no longer taste what they once tasted when the cooks were themselves locals.

Employing foreigners to cook local street and hawker foods they are not familiar with nor have the interest/inclination/incentive to master has affected the taste and quality of local street and hawker foods indeed.

This has, like it or not, affected the quality and authenticity of local street and hawker foods.

Penang, of all states, has a reputation to maintain as a state noted for its street and hawker foods that do attract tourists.

True, nationality is not necessarily a good yardstick by which the “authenticity” and “quality” of food are measured.

But how can you really expect lowly paid foreign workers to have the inclination/incentive to master cooking local street and hawkers foods and take pride in what they do?

Chin chai chin chai cukup loh!

But not for the poor customers.

Penang is doing the right thing to extent the ban on foreigners working as cooks in all coffee shops and hawker centers.

I say bravo to that!