Is pork nasi kandar insensitive? Malaysians are divided

Malaysians have expressed mixed reactions towards a local eatery offering pork dishes in its version of nasi kandar, with some flocking to the stall to support the hawker.

Meanwhile, a Muslim merchants' organisation relented to the sale of the dish, after it initially expressed its objection, citing possible confusion among Muslim diners.

The stall in question, Pumbaa's in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, drew attention online after it was featured on a local food influencer's video on social media as an eatery offering "Malaysia's first pork nasi kandar" which she described as "porkfection".

A pork varuval dish and luncheon pork were among the offerings diners could pick, along with other chicken, mutton and vegetable options to top their plates of rice.

The video initially attracted the ire of some Malaysians, who opposed the labelling of the dish as "nasi kandar", a dish they deemed to be "largely consumed by Muslims". Some Instagram users warned the hawker of a mishap waiting to happen if a Muslim diner "mistakenly eats pork at the restaurant".

On Wednesday (Nov 1), Jawahar Ali Khan, president of the Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners' Association (Presma), said he would accept the pork nasi kandar being sold, after the stall owner explained that the food would not be sold to Muslims.

He conceded that Presma had no right to say a certain dish must be halal or served in a certain way, reported Malaysian daily News Straits Times (NST).

It was a change in tune for the association, which counts around 12,000 eateries as its members. 

Just the day before, on Tuesday, Jawahar had said: "When someone comes up with such a video claiming that the dish served is nasi kandar, it can only be seen as insulting, insensitive and misleading.

"Customers believe all nasi kandar sold at various outlets is halal Muslim food... (The video) will cause confusion to customers and nasi kandar fans in this country, thus giving a negative image to this much-loved dish."

The owner of the three-week-old stall, which is located in a coffee shop, disagreed.

"This is a non-halal store, that's why I sell non-halal dishes, which include pork. I don't mean to inconvenience anyone," Suresh Gnanasekaran told NST on Tuesday.

"I'm just trying to make a living. I sell this food specifically in a Chinese shop, not in residential areas, so my customers are typically non-Muslim."

He added that the non-halal label is clearly visible at his stall and in social media posts promoting his eatery.

"Even the business logo shows the image of the animal. So, there shouldn't be any confusion. I've registered under the 'non-halal' business category," he pointed out, referring to an image of a warthog emblazoned on his stall's sign.

Locals have flooded Pumbaa's page on Google Reviews with hundreds of positive reviews, giving the stall an overall maximum five-star rating. Some also pour scorn on Presma's concerns.

Reza Salleh wrote: "People should be able to eat whatever they want with whatever dishes they want. No one was elected official council of nasi kandar police."

Indian Muslim origins

Nasi kandar is said to have origins in India and was brought to Malaysian shores by Tamil-Muslim immigrants some 70 years ago, according to an official tourism site by Penang's state government.

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The "kandar" in the dish's name, a Malay word referring to the use of a pole to carry loads on both its ends, was derived from how hawkers in the pre-independent Malaysian state would carry and sell their cooked dishes and rice.

Former Selangor state assemblyman Teng Chang Khim wrote on Facebook of Presma's initial objections: "If that were the logic that Muslims could be so easily misled and confused, then all Muslims should stop selling dim sum, yong tau fu, chee cheong fun - which literally means pork intestines (only in name)."

Penang-based Islamic law expert Wan Salim Noor told news site Malaysiakini that there is nothing to stop eateries from selling nasi kandar with pork, as long as they put up notices informing Muslim diners that the food is non-halal.

There have been disagreements over the permissibility of halal food options in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

A Malay-owned claypot chicken rice eatery in Kuala Lumpur caught the attention of Islamic officials in September for not operating with a halal certification, after some accused the operators of using alcoholic rice wine among its ingredients.

Back in 2009, A&W fast-food outlets in Malaysia were forced to rename the brand's root beer sarsaparilla to be granted halal certification.

In June 2023, members of Malaysia's Parliament debated granting bak kut teh Tourism Ministry-designated "national heritage dish" status. There had been disagreement over the dish's main ingredient being pork ribs, despite some MPs pointing out that versions of the dish using chicken could be permissible.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.