A Malaysian competitor on a Taiwanese reality program recently claimed that some of the country’s most famous dishes, including chicken rice and bak kut teh, have been “stolen” by Singapore.
Contestants from Malaysia and Singapore were asked to relate their personal experiences of living in their respective nations during an episode of 同学来了.
But when Zu Xiong (祖曄), a Malaysian competitor, asserted that Singapore had “stolen” some of his native nation’s most well-liked dishes, things got a little heated.
“All of the food that you know in Singapore were all stolen from Malaysia!” He declared.
Zu Xiong supported his assertion with examples such as bak kut teh, char kway teow, Nyonya kuih, and Hainan chicken rice, noting that these were all served in Malaysia before Singapore’s independence.
One of the Singaporean contestants angrily disagreed, stating that it was only a “cultural exchange” and that Singapore was assisting Malaysia in “promoting” the cuisine.
After that, a second competitor from Singapore stated that Singapore should help Malaysia promote its regional cuisine because the country had not done a good job at it.
In addition to criticising Singapore for allegedly “stealing” the dishes, Zu Xiong made fun of the city-state’s tourism attractions, labelling them as “man-made.”
Siloso Beach, Wave House Sentosa, Gardens by the Bay, and the Rain Vortex at Jewel Changi Airport were a few of the things he listed.
Then, he cautioned anyone considering a trip to Singapore not to stay longer than three days since there wasn’t much to see and they would quickly grow bored.
Naturally, Singaporean internet users took offence at Zu Xiong’s comments, calling him the epitome of Malaysians’ low self-esteem and “sour grapes.”
“One SGD already costs RM3.50.” But they still wish to quarrel with Singapore over where food comes from, a user said.
