Johor wants to patent two heritage dishes. But what does that even mean?!?

Of the all the weird things we read in the news, this one seriously takes the kuih! The Star reported that the Johor state government is planning to “gazette”…

…

…

ASAM PEDAS and LAKSA JOHOR?!!!?!?!????!!!!

WAIT WAIT… so what does “gazette” even mean??

We sometimes hear this word but what is “gazette”?

Some of you might have come across this word before in the news, especially when it comes to forest reserves, marine parks and heritage sites. Like, “The Government is gazetting the Ampang Forest Reserve blah blah.” CILISOS asked New Sin Yew, a lawyer with Bonn Advocates, what “gazette” means:

“It’s like a magazine. Weekly magazine. Something like classifieds.” – Sin Yew told CILISOS

Basically when the Government wants to tell the rakyat something, they gazette it. Usually, gazetting comes AFTER the Government makes a new law or an Act. For example, after passing forest reserve laws that state that nobody is allowed to simply chop down trees in that area, they will gazette it to inform the public (the same applies to marine parks and heritage sites etc.). In a way, it’s like immortalizing it on paper!

“After a law or minister’s order is made, they will send it to the national printers to publish in the gazette before it takes effect. Nowadays they do it online as well.” – Sin Yew

So, they will send it to the national printer. Percetakan Nasional Berhad (PNMB) is the appointed printer for the Government to print the Laws of Malaysia. They publish the Gazette to the public online daily and/or when required by the Government after 5.00 pm. So the electronic version is called e-Warta, and it consists of Federal Gazette and States Gazette. FYI, PNMB is under the Prime Minister’s Department, the Legal Affairs Division. Interesting right?

Btw, you can actually subscribe to the Gazette, click here for the daily one, and here for the weekly one.

Ok, so what does gazetting asam pedas and laksa Johor do?

According to State Youth, Sports, Culture and Heritage committee chairman Datuk Zulkurnain Kamisan, the state is gazetting these two signature Johorean dishes as heritage dishes. He said it will be like PATENTING the dishes, because other states also have their own versions!

“Johor’s asam pedas is different from Malacca’s but every one knows the basic ingredients which go into the dish.” – Datuk Zulkurnain Kamisan told The Star

As for laksa Johor, it uses spaghetti, not laksa noodles. It is believed the late Sultan Abu Bakar visited Italy and introduced it to the Johor royal household. “Try replacing spaghetti with yellow noodles or other types of noodles for laksa Johor, it does not taste the same as the original laksa Johor,” said Datuk Zulkurnain. But here’s where we discovered something else that surprised us…

Apparently the Government gazetted 72 traditional food in 2007!

Bernama reported that 72 traditional dishes of various races in Malaysia were gazetted as national heritage dishes. They include Chinese red kuih (a.k.a. ang ku kuih), Chettiar shrimp condiment, “baba-nyonya kemuli” rice, tapioca biscuit from Sabah, “manuk pansuh” from Sarawak, fish cooked in clay, “ocong-ocong”, “gedonchak”, dried lungs and “banchaan” rice. Half these dishes we’ve never even heard of before (maybe ugaiz have), but that’s why the Government wanted to immortalize it.

“Studies by the National Heritage Department show the 72 dishes are becoming endangered with the younger generation having less knowledge about them.” – Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Utama Dr. Rais bin Yatim, former Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister

So to understand what it means to “gazette” asam pedas and laksa Johor, we can look at the previously gazetted food. Rais said the move was to ensure the dishes did not become extinct. The Government even consulted the older generation to ensure the food’s originality. After that, they plan to promote and teach the younger generation how prepare these dishes.

Apparently, Perak also once tried to gazette a couple of its own state heritage food.

In the future, Malaysians would still be able to taste original laksa Johor and asam pedas

Remember we mentioned that a “gazette” comes after the Government makes a new law or Act? Now that we know Johor plans to immortalize and patent these two dishes, what is the actual law or Act that talks about it? Well, heritage related stuff comes under the National Heritage Department of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, which enforces the National Heritage Act 2005 (NHA). So yeah, there is an Act!

HOWEVER, it only sets laws on heritage SITES. Not other stuff like food, arts or dances. Maybe because things like food and dances are not really something that can be destroyed. People can bulldoze through a 1,000-year-old temple or 1 mil-year-old forest and they’ll be gone forever, but food can always been cooked again, as long as you have the people with expertise.

Then what is the point of gazetting asam pedas and laksa Johor if there is no law for it? Well, as Sin Yew explained, the Government can gazette anything they want, as long as there is a need for it. Even if the NHA doesn’t cover food, the National Heritage Department is responsible for POLICIES needed to preserve heritage food (and we’re not talking about adding preservatives 😛 ). According to the Department, there are a total of 151 national heritage foods on the list.

One of the ways is through food festivals, which the Tourism and Cultural Ministry organizes, such as Malaysia Fest and KL Big Kitchen Festival. Besides that, they organize workshops and seminars (also for heritage arts, dances, and so much more).

The Ministry has made some contributions to bring forward our country’s cultural heritage, not just on a local level, but on an international level. We’ve made it into the UNESCO Heritage Site listings, plus Malaysia has become one of the World Heritage Committee since then. Even the rakyat can be a part of this process by recommending something we believe is worthy of heritage status, which we can submit HERE.

Our heritage is what makes Malaysia, Malaysia and we shouldn’t let it die. Especially if it’s food! 😉