Mixed reaction to ‘only local cooks’ suggestion

MIRI: The announcement by Human Resource Minister M Kula Segaran for all restaurants in the country to only recruit locals as cooks from July 1, received mixed reactions from the people here.

A Bakam resident Mokhtar Ree said the announcement was a piece of good news as it not only provided job opportunities to locals, it would also give confidence to diners on the food served to them at restaurants.

I believe this is a good suggestion. We have many talented youths who can cook but they are doing something else because there are not many opportunities for them.

If all restaurants employ locals as their cooks, there will definitely be more job opportunities for our own people, he said.

Mokhtar, who is also chairman of Darul Khairat Mosque in Bakam said by having locals as cooks, diners would also feel more confident to dine in restaurants.

For me and my family, we always look for a restaurant that can provide well cooked food and clean environment. We also feel more confident if the food are prepared by our own people instead of foreigners.

There are certain ways of preparing many of our local dishes, and I am sure our own people can prepare them better, he said when met yesterday.

Meanwhile, a restaurant operator at Miri Waterfront who requested anonymity said the minister’s suggestion would have negative effect on restaurant operators here who strive for quality.

Our priority is not where the cook come from, but how well he can cook, because our main focus is quality. If the cook is local and is well-trained in the job, I do not see any problem in that.

But locals who have the skill and have obtained training as chefs prefer to work outside, including in Singapore and Brunei where the salary is higher, he said.

He added that a good cook was not easy to come by and sometimes in such a situation, restaurant operators had no choice but to employ any trained and good cooks, even if they are not local.

There is not much we can do because we want quality in the food we serve. We do not mind employing local cooks if they are well trained, but such cooks are not always easy to find, he said.

He also said there are many categories of cooks; there are cooks who are good in preparing Asian dishes but not good in preparing Western dishes.

For example, if you are running a Thai or Vietnamese restaurants, you will want to employ Thai or Vietnamese cooks to ensure that the food served are authentic. This is for the good of business and to keep a good image of the restaurant.

He hoped that the national restaurant operators associations could discuss the matter further with the ministry.

The situation in Sarawak and in Peninsula is not the same. We know that many restaurants in the Peninsula employ Bangladeshis because of the cheaper wages. But for us in Sarawak, we look for trained cook because our priority is quality, he said.