SARAWAKIANS have taken to social media to slam the Education Ministry after finding inaccuracies about the popular and uniquely Sarawakian kolo mee in a Year 3 textbook.

The textbook for national schools stated that the dish, a favourite among the state’s ethnic Chinese population, is also known as kampua mee, a mistake which has made locals all riled up.

Amelia Lim Wen Ching stumbled on the inaccuracy when she overheard a teacher reading the chapter out loud in one of her children’s classes while she was at the school in Padungan, Kuching.

“I overheard the teacher. At first, I thought I heard wrongly,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

Lim said she then checked the textbook to satisfy herself that she had not heard it wrongly.

“I heard right, and it is really misleading,” she said.

Although both are noodle dishes, any Sarawakian would be able to tell the taste of kampua mee – synonymous with the Foochow people in central Sarawak – from kolo mee, which is synonymous with the non-Foochows in the northern part of the state. The two are miles apart.

Lim, in a posting on her Facebook page, said that even though both kolo mee and kampua mee are dry noodle dishes, their tastes and textures vary.

In the textbook, it was stated that the other names for kolo mee are ‘kampua’, ‘mi rangkai’ and dry mee.

Mi rangkai is what the ethnic Ibans call the plain kolo mee, which comes without the pork slices or minced meat garnish the regular one has.

They are typically served in rural towns that have a predominantly Iban population.

Lim expressed disappointment with the syllabus for “teaching the kids these Sarawak traditional foods are the same”.

What made her more disappointed was that the textbook was issued by the Education Ministry.

She became more upset when the teacher told her there was nothing she could do except “teach according to the book”.

“If this is not in the school textbook, I think many people won’t be bothered,” she said.

“I really hope the ministry can (rectify) the mistake.”

The Malaysian Insight brought the issue to the attention of state Education, Science and Technological Research Minister Michael Manyin, and is awaiting his response.

When she posted a photograph of the offending chapter on her Facebook, it solicited many angry reactions.

A Facebooker who goes by the name of Daniel Cm Tan said: “Malaysian education (is) in the longkang (drain) for the last 30 over years”.

Norbert Liew said it in more sarcastic fashion when he wrote: “So… another name for mee jawa is as mee mamak? Could (it) be printed in the textbook too?”

“We should not be surprised,” said the Kuching-born director of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania James Chin.

“After all, some Malayans think we live in treehouses.” – June 27, 2021.