CONVERT Muslim preacher Prof Riduan Tee Abdullah is not doing any favour to quell the bah kut teh (literally herbal pork rib soup) controversy when he hit out at “ultra kiasu (his favourite phrase to mean chauvinist) ministers for their spin as if the main ingredient which is the various pork parts can be replaced with chicken, beef or even mutton.
As DAP Ipoh Timur MP Howard Lee Chuan How did a good job in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday (March 5) to allay misconception by explaining that bak in Hokkien merely means ‘any type of meat”, the Muafakat Nasional deputy president insisted that bak to the Chinese refers to “only pork”.
“Ask the Chinese, if whenever they refer to bak kut teh whether it can change to chicken herbal soup, mutton herbal soup or any other soup other than pork,” he penned in a recent Facebook post.
“Bak is synonymous with pork (to the Chinese). That’s why the ultra kiasu minister (probably referring to Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing) who likes to eat pork does not need to make excuses to prove that he’s right and not racist.
“In fact, it is very rare for the Chinese to make herbal soup without pork. Not to mention putting beef or mutton in the soup because most Chinese don’t like to eat beef while some don’t consume beef at all. The majority of them like pork.”
Taking the bah kut teh issue to the next level, Ridhuan claimed that there is a hidden intention among some “ultra kiasu ministers” to uphold Chinese supremacy in Malaya.
“The proposal to make Chinese New Village as a UNESCO heritage site is one of the ways to uphold Chinese supremacy in the country,” chided the political science lecturer of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin in Kuala Terengganu.
“The fact is that the proposal to make this herbal pork soup as a heritage food is very challenging to the sensitivity of the Malay majority population. This ultra kiasu deliberately ignore the history of this country which fundamentally rests on the Malay Bumiputera and Islam.”
Added Ridhuan who was relieved as a speaker on RTM (Radio Televisyen Malaysia) talk show Forum Perdana Ehwal Islam soon after the formation of the unity government in late November 2022:
“When the cry of Malay supremacy resonates, they get angry even though Malay supremacy is never actually asserted but merely a cry. But when they want to uphold Chinese supremacy, they want the Malays to be silent or not to utter a word.
“If anyone opposes, they will be accused of being racist. As if they can be racist while others can’t. Therefore, be careful with these ultra kiasu and their plans to establish Chinese supremacy in a Malay country.” – March 6, 2024
