Malaysian actor-host Hero Tai has drawn flak online with his claims that many “Singaporean dishes”, such as bak kut teh, Hainanese chicken rice, char kway teow and Nonya kueh, come from Malaysia.
In an episode of Taiwanese television programme Student, which aired on Dec 13, the 37-year-old also found himself drawn into a war of words with Singaporean singer Huang Jinglun over the issue.
In a variety segment of the show, Taiwanese host Ken Lin raised the long-standing controversy over whether certain foods belonged to Malaysia or Singapore, and consulted a panel of celebrities from both countries.
Tai, who won the Mister International Malaysia competition in 2006 and starred in Taiwanese dramas such as Taste Of Love (2015 to 2016) and Love Me (2016), was from the Malaysian team.
The Singaporean team consisted of actress Gina Lim as well as singers Huang and Ruth Kueo.
Dressed in a yellow sports jersey adorned with the Malaysia flag, Tai volunteered to answer and said: “Let me make a fair statement – all the ‘Singaporean’ foods that the Taiwanese know about belong to Malaysia. I am serious about this.”
Later in the show, he reiterated this statement and cited examples of food that Singapore “stole”, such as bak kut teh, Hainanese chicken rice, char kway teow and Nonya kueh.
He added: “These foods existed in Singapore before it became independent from Malaysia (in 1965).”
Tai’s claims were met with a strong rebuttal from the Singaporean team.
Lim, 46, argued: “We are not ‘stealing’. We are helping you to promote (the foods).”
Huang, 40, added: “This is an issue for (Malaysia’s) tourism promotion board. If you cannot promote your own things and need Singapore to help popularise them, you have big problems.”
He also used the analogy of cover songs, saying: “If a song’s original version is not popular, but the cover version is, it is not the fault of the cover singer. We have never said we are the original singers. But I am saying our cover version is nicer than the original.”
During the programme, Tai also complained about other aspects of the Lion City. He said visitors to Singapore need to stay for only three days as that is the time required to visit all the city-state’s attractions.
He showed images of Singapore’s beaches, as well as Jewel Changi Airport’s HSBC Rain Vortex and Gardens by the Bay’s Cloud Forest, and said these were “man-made” and “fake”.
“The whole of Singapore does not have mountains – they have only man-made hills,” he continued.
In addition, he stuck a sign on Huang with the words “no culture”, “no attractions” and “super boring” to express his feelings towards Singapore.
Tai’s remarks have been met with negative comments online. One netizen wrote: “When a person has an inferiority complex, he will (belittle others) to make himself feel superior.”
Another added: “Blowing out someone’s light won’t make yours shine.”
However, Tai also had some supporters, like a netizen who wrote: “Almost all of Singapore’s famous attractions are man-made. After listening to this, it seems that there is no need to go to Singapore.”
The vast majority of netizens who weighed in felt Singapore and Malaysia have a complex relationship and shared history, which meant the topic of where certain foods come from will not be resolved easily.
One wrote: “Malaysia and Singapore are basically a pair of brothers who love each other and compete and quarrel all day long.” — The Straits Times/Asia News Network
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