Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz has blasted the MCA for defending the interest of foreigners and not Malaysians when the party criticised him for supporting the ban on foreign cooks.
Nazri said he does not care about what MCA says as "the party does not represent the rakyat".
He added that the MCA has "truly lost its direction" as it was not showing concern about Penangites or its local food, which the party should do, instead of speaking out for foreigners.
"Moreover, they don't have any seats in Penang, they are speaking on behalf of who?" he asked Malaysiakini, when contacted.
He said the trouble with MCA, was that they just want to oppose Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (right), whether he was right or wrong.
"For me, if Guan Eng is right, I will support," the minister added.
"If they have a problem with Guan Eng, that is not my problem, it is theirs, they have to deal with it," he stressed.
Protecting Penangites
Nazri said he was more interested in protecting Penangites who lost their jobs or income due to hawkers hiring foreigners to do the job.
He added he was also very concerned about preserving Penang food's unique tastes which are famous internationally.
"I am in the cabinet and all of us are concerned about the two million documented foreigners and two million undocumented ones in the country," he said.
"As for Penang food, before the taste deteriorates further with foreign cooks, it is good that the matter be looked into, and I am only talking about hawkers and not five star hotels or Italian restaurants," he added.
Nazri also criticised those who described as "xenophobia" the proposal to ban foreign cooks.
"Please go back to class and learn the real meaning of xenophobia - the word is probably to bombastic for such people," he quipped.
He was responding to MCA youth secretary general Leong Kim Soon (right) for criticising him for "agreeing" with Guan Eng on the issue, saying it might be for "personal publicity".
Leong had questioned if Nazri really comprehended that Guan Eng’s proposal would have a real impact on Penang as a foodie’s paradise.
Leong also pointed out that the online survey taken by the Penang state government to obtain feedback regarding its proposal was "littered with errors".
"I hope that Nazri can understand that as a tourism minister, his remarks to a large extent, represents the federal government’s position," Leong had said.
Nazri had fully backed Guan Eng's Penang's proposal to ban foreigners from working as cooks at hawker stalls, in a move to preserve the authenticity of Penang's famous street food.
He made the remark after launching the Georgetown Festival (GTF) 2014 in Penang, according to The Star.
Guan Eng's proposal had been criticised by well-known chef, Redzuwan Ismail, better known as Chef Wan, who said Malaysia would be a laughing stock if the move was implemented. - Mkini
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