Malaysia's Food Diversity A Catalyst For Tourism In Melaka

From Rashidah Abdul Rahim SINGAPORE, May 3 (Bernama) -- The wide variety of food in Malaysia, especially in Melaka state, acts as a catalyst for the state's tourism industry. Melaka Chief Minister Idris Haron said the diversity of food due to the state's multi-ethnic background was a major tourist attraction, especially for Singaporeans to visit Melaka to try the food themselves. "I find that food tourism has contributed to the high number of tourist arrivals in Melaka as it serves as a magnet. "Singapore is among the countries with the most number of visitors to Melaka and they have become a regular contributor to the statistics," he told reporters after launching the 'Melaka Plate @ Riuh De Agrobazaar Campaign' programme at Agrobazaar Malaysia in the island republic, Tuesday. Also present were Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) board of directors member Zurainah Musa and Melaka Agriculture and Entrepreneur Development Committee chairman Hasan Abdul Rahman. Idris said the state government, through its local authorities, was constantly monitoring the state's food tourism sector to ensure that the operators complied with the cleanliness standards and guidelines set by the state. He said proper food preparations and handling were important to ensure tourists who came to Melaka to enjoy the variety of food at restaurants and other eateries were satisfied with the quality of food served. "Most tourists, especially from Singapore, said the food sold here were still authentic in appearance and flavour. "So the sellers or those involved in the food preparations in Melaka must maintain the authentic taste and not neglect this aspect just to make profit or because of other factors," he said. Meanwhile, he said the six Malaysian dishes that were seen as a major draw for Singaporeans at the campaign programme here were nyonya laksa, grilled fish, gerang asam (asam pedas), chicken pongteh, cucur udang Melaka and cendol. Idris said the food sold at Agrobazaar Malaysia in Singapore for two weeks from Monday were among the well-known dishes in Melaka. He said apart from promoting Melaka cuisine, Agrobazaar Malaysia in Singapore also served as a platform for Bumiputera entrepreneurs from Melaka to expand their business at the international level. "Such an opportunity created by FAMA is not only good for these Bumiputera entrepreneurs to promote and sell their products outside Malaysia, but it also serves as a one-stop centre for various halal products for Singaporeans," he said. He said 15 companies from the state were given the opportunity to market their 43 products at Agrobazaar Malaysia in Singapore. Officially opened on Aug 27, 2014, by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak, Agrobazaar Malaysia, located in Sultan Gate, off Beach Road, is 5,100 sq ft of space for authentic Malaysian produce. --BERNAMA