(Speaking of Penang 'char kuey teow', check out this article where we rate the best 'char kuey teow' dishes in Penang:)

Depending on who you ask or where you're from, there are plenty of different spellings for the dish ('kuey teow', 'koay teow', etc.) but the love for it remains.

However, Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka (DBP) has decided to give the flat rice noodles a new spelling, and to be frank, we don't quite like it.

A way to standardise the spelling

DBP, the country’s authority on Bahasa Melayu, has recently provided a new Bahasa Melayu spelling for the flat rice noodles.

In a Facebook post uploaded on their page on Monday (1 March), DBP announced that the new spelling for the noodles is 'kuetiau'.

According to DBP, the new spelling was provided to standardise the name of the dish, and the Borneo Post even reported that the standardised spelling was apparently very well-received.

One of them is Kapitan Tan Yit Sheng, a committee member of the Kuching Coffeeshop and Restaurant Owners Association.

Tan told Borneo Post that the standardising the spelling was a good move, adding that the spelling of other dishes such as ‘kolo mee’, ‘laksa’ and ‘tauhu soup’ should be standardised as well.

“I was not aware that the government body has posted a clarification on the kuetiau spellings but I believe it’s a good move, as currently there are many versions of the spellings of the dish name in the market,” he was quoted as saying.

While we agree that it is easier when there's a standardised spelling for the word, but wouldn't it be better if we use a spelling that is more commonly linked to the dish, such as 'kuey teow' or 'kway teow'?

After all, the name 'char kway teow' derives from the Hokkien language, so shouldn't they get a say on what the standardised spelling should be?