IT seems there is a demand for things Malaysian if concerted efforts are made in 'selling' them to other countries.

One of our national treasures is food and efforts, such as the "Malaysia Kitchen" promotion in the United States, is one example.

It was introduced by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) to help restaurants operated by Malaysians or foreign citizens with Malaysian partners in the US to import ingredients from our country.

The move, it is hoped, will boost our export there besides promoting Malaysian dishes.

According to Matrade, the promotion is making its way to American taste buds.

Well, we may not hear Brad Pitt asking Angelina Jolie to "pass the sambal, please" if they decide to do Mr and Mrs Smith 2.

But with persistence and marketing whiz, however, Malaysian food will one day be served in Hollywood movies alongside chow mien, sushi and tom yam.

In fact, why not export our delicacies to emerging markets like China and India? They may just be drawn by something familiar yet undoubtably Malaysian like Hokkien mee, yong tau foo, roti canai, mee goreng mamak and the like.

Come to think of it, why not introduce Mee Bandung or Mee Jawa to our neighbours? They're truly Malaysian. How about a Malaysian kopitiam franchise? These modern version of the old kedai kopi are already making an ubiquitous presence in our cities and towns, much like pubs in Britain.

The question now is whether Malaysians are in one mind to aggressively and creatively push our products overseas, and not wait for foreign entrepreneurs to do the job or even hijack our homegrown treasures.

Just take a leaf from Kelantan kite maker Husmizi Ibrahim's book. His kites are being sold in Japan, China, Scotland and England, among others, with prices as high as RM6,000 apiece after winning a national kite-making contest.

You see, the 35-year-old is paralysed below the waist after being involved in a road accident 10 years earlier! He is flying high now. How about the rest of us?

M. Roberts
Selangor