Facing difficulty finding halal food during his time in South Korea, one railway engineer from Tawau, Sabah decided to start cooking his own Malaysian dishes.
Now, apart from fulfilling his craving for home-cooked food, Fikri Mohd Jumat is able to share the dishes with his colleagues from different countries.
The 33-year-old remembers the first time he prepared prawns in coconut milk, sambal petai, and fried chicken for his co-workers, who quickly fell in love with Malaysian cuisine.
Since then, Fikri – who goes by Fikri Akram on social media – has been whipping up many local favourites, including nasi lemak, nasi dagang, nasi kerabu, northern laksa, and mee kolok, as well as traditional kuih.
Videos of him cooking and sharing these meals with his colleagues have gone viral on Instagram and TikTok, on which he has a total of over 900,000 followers.
“I thought, since I work abroad, why not introduce Malaysia in a small way, starting with my colleagues in Korea? These small efforts can have a big impact,” he told FMT.
“We can’t just rely on the tourism ministry – as citizens, we too can be ‘mini ambassadors’ promoting our country,” he added.
Apart from his South Korean colleagues, he has co-workers from Spain, Italy, the US and elsewhere. And according to Fikri, their all-time favourite dish is nasi lemak.
“Whenever I cook it, they’ll definitely go for seconds. My employer even said nasi lemak with spiced fried chicken is the best!
“They’ve joked that if they want more, they’ll have to come to Malaysia,” he said with a laugh.
Another engineer, Reen Mohammad, is similarly using her job in a multinational company to introduce Malaysia to her colleagues from all over the world.
The 40-year-old, who is based in Melaka and employed by a German-based engineering firm, said working alongside those of various nationalities has given her the chance to share Malaysia’s unique culture, cuisine and attractions.
“I tell them that in Malaysia, you can go anywhere without worrying about threats. Just take care of your personal safety. Malaysia is very safe,” said the electrical-engineering graduate from Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia.
Individuals like Reen are proving that Malaysians are capable of leading large-scale projects involving foreign countries: her collaborators include those from Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, the Philippines, Korea, Mexico, Germany, Austria and Poland.
According to the mother of two, international employers are increasingly recognising the skills of Malaysian talent, which benefits the nation’s economy.
“Working for foreign employers doesn’t mean we’re betraying our country. When investors come, Malaysians gain through job opportunities.
“We can also take the opportunity to be ‘mini ambassadors’ for Malaysia,” said Reen, who kicked off her career with a Japanese company in 2010.
