The Malaysian government has gazetted bak kut teh, a hearty dish of pork ribs simmered in herbs and spices, as one of the country’s heritage dishes, a move that has caused a stir among netizens there.

Along with nine other dishes, the herbal-style bak kut teh, believed to have been invented by Hokkiens in Port Klang, was added to a growing list of the country’s heritage food recently.

But netizens in the Muslim-majority country have raised questions about whether the dish deserves national recognition.

Some think the dish deserves a place on the list as it was “born in Malaysia”, while others believe that a national heritage dish should be one that people of all races and religions can consume.

User @kendogdoll said in a post on social media platform X: “Make it big and make it proud. Bak kut teh is 100 per cent born in Malaysia.”

But @Jeyakumar688588, another user on the platform, said that it was a controversial choice as “over half the population will not be able to consume this dish”.

Others like @bongkersz argued that bak kut teh was not an unusual choice as there were other dishes on the list, such as jeruk tuhua (pickled wild ginger from Sabah), that would likely also not be eaten by “more than half the population in Malaysia”.

“That’s the point, national heritage food should be uniquely Malaysian, halal or not, consumed by all or not. (Or) Else we let Singapore claim bak kut teh and roti canai lah,” said @bongkersz on X.

Other dishes that made it into the list include kueh lapis, kolo mee and burasak – a rice dumpling cooked with coconut milk and wrapped in banana leaf.