Now, Malaysia is looking to up the ante on our unofficial national dish by nominating it to be included as part of UNESCO's (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) 2024 Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
As reported by Berita Harian, Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said, "The nomination of Malaysia's breakfast culture, including nasi lemak, is an effort by the ministry to ensure that the people's traditional meal is recognised as the national heritage food of Malaysia, and also that it will not be claimed by other nations." *We’re side-eyeing our neighbours down south*.
It was part of his speech at the MOTAC Media Appreciation Gala in Petaling Jaya on 8 March.
An iconic dish
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According to The Sun, other iconic breakfast food from our country was nominated for the list last year such as roti canai and teh tarik.
According to UNESCO, ‘Cultural heritage does not end at monuments and collections of objects.
It also includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts.’
The Gua Niah National Park and the Malaysian Kebaya have also been nominated for UNESCO’s list.
Tiong said that the park in Sarawak is an archaeological legacy deserving of UNESCO's world recognition.
He added that the Kebaya was jointly applied with neighbouring countries Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand for nomination under the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity List, as a representation of these countries' shared culture.
Tiong pronounced the year as a meaningful one for the country and could potentially be considered to be a ‘Tahun Warisan’ or ‘Heritage Year’. We hope that more tourists will fly in to try our amazing dish!
Image credit: @nasilemak_tokabah, @nasilemakshop.my, foodrepublic.com