KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 ― Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Ronald Kiandee was forced to tick off Parliament staff today for the misspelling of the appetiser in a dinner menu served two days ago, after snapshots of it spread on the Internet.
Kiandee conceded that the mistake was “funny” even as Malaysians poked fun at diners being served “scissors salad” in Parliament, but added that such a misspelling of “Caesar salad” should not have happened during a function in the country’s lawmaking institution.
“I confirmed that there was no scissors in the salad but it was just a regular 'ceasar salad'.
“Although this was a funny mistake by the caterer, Parliamentary staff should be more careful so mistakes like this will not be repeated in the future,” he said in a Facebook post.
The menu, dated two days ago for a function in Parliament, stated “scissors salad” and “cream brule”, along with other regular items such as pumpkin soup and lamb chop.
The hashtag #scissorssalad has been trending on Twitter and Facebook since yesterday, with Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin posting a picture of scissors-shaped lettuce on Twitter saying, “Couldn't resist. Hidop scissors salad,” which means, long live scissors salad.
Gerakan Youth Chief Tan Keng Liang also chimed into the conversation on his Twitter page.
“Some may laugh at 'scissors salad' joke but it shows the state of our education system. English not compulsory?” he said.
The importance of using English either in schools or in government institutions have long been the issue of discussion with some saying Malaysians need to be able to converse in English well in order to compete globally while others, especially the Malay rights group argue that Malay should take precedence as it is the language of the land.
Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem recently announced that English will be adopted as one of Sarawak’s official languages, a rare move that both got lauded by some, and criticised by others.
Yesterday, he said those who shun the language are putting themselves at a disadvantage and that employing English for official use in his administration would also benefit Sarawak’s multiracial and multicultural natives.
Former federal minister Tan Sri Rais Yatim meanwhile claimed that the adoption of English in Sarawak would create discord among Malaysians.
On the education front, Putrajaya announced it will make English a compulsory pass in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) Form Five examinations starting next year.
