Few days back did you hear about the chinese tourists (from China) were asked to leave the Japanese restaurant for having poor eating attitude?

The women throw the peeled shells onto the floor, and pile up bones and rubbish on the table. According to the report, they had also stayed at their table beyond the limit of 90 minutes for the restaurant’s buffet service despite being reminded several times by staff that it was time to leave.

However this situation seems very common in Malaysia too.

On our Hari Raya festival, where we Malaysians would have Open House and makan-makan together, how would we expect Malaysians behave?

Last few nights I was invited for Iftar at a friend’s house. He invited many other friends and neighbours that it became quite a big event. Like usual I saw people just left the tables with many plates and bowls with so much mess and food waste without the awareness to help at least by throwing their own mess into the garbage bag.

We Malaysians used to eat outside at stalls and mamak restaurants where there are helpers to clean the table, so we behave the same when we are the guests of a kenduri??

Please, even it is the restaurant we pay, we Malays must behave well and lead by example and show good table manners ourselves. Our children will copy our behaviour or do we want in future our children becoming like the China’s tourists being chased out from the restaurant for having bad eating behaviour??

When people invite us for open house or kenduri, we need to focus more on establishing relationship, but not eating like we are starving and leave the table with mess like “monyet dapat bunga”

Another issue is on the damage that we do to the world when we widely serve using the plastic plates and utensils. Today Europe is proposing a ban on single-use plastic items such as cutlery, straws and cotton buds in a bid to clean up the oceans.

But can we imagine in Malaysia, how can we ban the plastics plates while the eaters are just do not want to help to clean their own mess?