In a bid to preserve its food heritage and local taste, the Malaysian state of Penang has banned foreigners from cooking in popular hawker stalls.
Lim Guan Eng, Chief Minister of Penang, a popular tourist destination in country's northwest, issued the guidelines saying foreign workers will only be allowed to work at the roadside kitchens chopping vegetables and doing the dishes.
The hawker food stalls have been given one year's time as of next January to comply with the new rules or their licences would be revoked, Chief Minister Eng said.
It would be included as a condition in hawker licenses next year, he said, adding, restaurants or food outlets with centralised kitchens would not be subjected to the ruling.
Authorities will also issue stickers which hawkers can display to show that their food is "authentically local".
"The main idea of this is to safeguard Penang's food heritage and maintain the flavours that are unique to Penang," the Malaysian Insider quoted Eng as saying.
The local government's decision came after an opinion poll in July and August showed more than 80 per cent people were in favour of the new regulations.
