An article published by TODAY has netizens aptly outraged over the fact that its reporters pinpointed the traditional cuisine of Malays and Indians as the reason the two communities are ailed with diabetes, as compared to the food of the Chinese.
You can read the whole article here, but in case of TL;DR, the two writers (of Chinese descent) argued strongly that Malays and Indians in Singapore have to change their eating habits if they want to win a “war against diabetes”. Traditional methods of cooking their dishes are unhealthy, the journalists asserted, and it would be hard to change the mindsets of either communities.
Surely, TODAY had the intention of highlighting the health crisis that’s affecting Malays and Indians more than the majority Chinese community. But it’s arguably hard not to be affronted with divisionary sentences such as this:
“For them, unlike Chinese dishes, one cannot produce a healthier, yet still tasty ayam penyet or roti prata by simply using less oil, salt or sauce.”
From their perspective, it seems like the traditional methods of Malay and Indian dishes are the only reason why the communities are hit by diabetes. But they ignore other elements such as income levels, costs of living, portion control, education and the existence of unhealthy foods from other cultures.
The article received righteous criticism by netizens, who highlighted the blatant flaws in logic and the prejudiced stance in TODAY’s piece.
