Some Malaysians have voiced their concerns over the influx of foreign workers over the years. These workers can be seen working in various sectors such as construction, hospitality, and also food and beverage.

In a shocking move, the Human Resource Minister M. Kulasegaran has announced that the government will be banning foreign cooks in Malaysia soon.

A new regulation will be implemented effective 1 January 2019 where restaurants must employ only local cooks.


However, the government is already urging restaurants to start recruiting local cooks starting this 1 July. Restaurants with existing foreign cooks are given until 31 December 2018 to find replacements.

“We want locals to be employed as cooks. There will be no compromise... we are giving you notice to do it by Dec 31. If you don’t do it we can’t help it,” M. Kulasegaran told Bernama.

The move was to curb the dependency of local restaurants on foreign workers and to also ensure the quality of local food.

The ministry was somewhat inspired by the Penang government’s decision to ban foreign cooks at local hawker centres or stalls in order to protect the authenticity and the heritage of our local cuisine.

Well, we concur with the idea that local cooks should be employed in restaurants because no one else knows our food better than us, right?