Unfair to ban foreign cooks from food courts, kopitiams only, say hawkers

 

FMT:

Unfair to ban foreign

cooks from food courts,

kopitiams only, say

hawkers

Tan Chin Tung

-20 Jul 2024, 10:15 AM

The Penang Hawkers Association says the ban should also be applied to other eateries, such as restaurants, cafes and mamak stalls.

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The Penang Island City Council plans to enforce a ban on foreign nationals cooking 13 local dishes at all hawker centres, coffee shops, and food courts from early next year.

PETALING JAYA: 

It is unfair of the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) to impose a ban on foreigners cooking selected local delicacies at hawker stalls, food courts and coffee shops only, says the Penang Hawkers Association.

Its president Ooi Thean Huat said the ban should also be applied to other eateries, such as restaurants, cafes and mamak stalls.

What is the difference between restaurants and hawker centres? We both need licences to operate and we both pay taxes,

 he told FMT.

However, according to Jason Hng, who heads Penang’s local government, town and country planning committee, the state government had no plans to extend the ban to cafes and restaurants.

The kitchens in cafes and restaurants are typically situated at the back of the building and therefore 

hidden

 from customers, he said.

Our policy will only focus on hawker stalls and coffee shops for now because we want to maintain the quality of certain local delicacies sold there and the impression they will give to tourists.

Since 2016, the state government has implemented a ban on foreign cooks for all hawker centres and food courts that belong to MBPP.

The city council now plans to enforce a ban on foreign nationals cooking 13 local dishes at all hawker centres, coffee shops, and food courts in the state from early next year, according to the Malay Mail.

The 13 types of food 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.

The news portal quoted MBPP councillor Tan Soo Siang as saying that the council decided to extend the coverage of the ban after receiving complaints from Penangites regarding the quality of local food prepared by privately owned hawker stalls.

Ooi, however, pointed out that most foreign nationals are employed by local chefs to help prepare the ingredients needed for the dishes only.

Consumers should investigate properly before complaining. Most of the time, foreign nationals work only as helpers since we know they can’t get the flavours right (if they prepare the dish).

Hng denied that the ban discriminated against foreign workers, stressing that the policy would only impact hawkers who sell those 13 dishes.

We are not excluding foreigners. They are welcome to work at and open cafes and restaurants in Penang,

 he added.

More job opportunities for locals

While Ooi disagreed with the narrow scope of enforcement, he accepted that the policy could possibly create more job opportunities for locals, who would then master the skills needed to preserve the authentic flavours of local dishes.

“If you hire a foreign cook, they will leave once their permits expire in a few years.

This means you will need to teach someone else the skills all over again,

 he said, adding that he had noticed an increase in the number of youths returning to their hometown in Penang to take over their family businesses as hawkers.

He also urged the state government to ensure that the ban is enforced in the long term, having witnessed firsthand how enforcement officials were only seen taking action against offenders in the first few months when the previous ban took effect in 2016.

They should start by issuing a warning or notice to offenders before imposing a fine or suspending their licences. Don’t just revoke their licences because these people have worked so hard to start their businesses.