THE Penang Hawkers Association has criticised the Penang Island City Council (MBPP)‘s decision to bar foreign cooks from prepating selected local dishes at the state’s hawker stalls, food courts, and coffee shops.

Penang Hawkers Association president Ooi Thean Huat said the ban should also apply to restaurants, cafes, and mamak stalls.

“What is the difference between restaurants and hawker centres? We both need a licence to operate, and we both pay taxes,” he told FMT.

State Local Government, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jason H’ng said the Penang government had no plans to extend the ban to cafes and restaurants. He said this was because the kitchens in those outlets were typically at the back of the building and hidden from customers.

He said the policy applied only to hawker stalls and coffee shops for now to maintain the quality of local dishes.

Earlier this week, Hng said the state was considering extending the ban to all food courts. The ban was enforced in MBPP food courts in 2016.

“The initiative is important to preserve the authenticity of our Penang food,” Hng said.

Besides ensuring the quality of the dishes, the move could help prevent foreign influence on traditional recipes.

Starting next year, Penang will prohibit foreign cooks from preparing 13 local dishes at hawker centres, coffee shops, and food courts.

The dishes are nasi lemak, asam laksa, pasembor, mee sotong, char koay teow, koay teow soup, Hokkien mee, curry mee, wan tan mee, loh bak, chee cheong fun, char koay kak, and oh chien.

Hng denied that the ban discriminates against foreign workers.

“We are not excluding foreigners. They are welcome to work at and open cafes and restaurants in Penang,” he said. – July 20, 2024.