Since MAS has attributed its "naked" nasi lemak to a one-off logistical mistake, can passengers now expect a complete set of the popular dish on the national carrier?

Not so, based on the experience of social activist Josh Hong, who took the airline's flight from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur this morning and found that the nasi lemak was still minus its customary peanuts and anchovies.

"It is cold in the air because (it is) still 'naked'," he captioned a photo of the dish posted on his Facebook page.

The dish had some rice, half a hard-boiled egg, and some sambal mixed with prawns, but the tightly cropped photograph makes it difficult to ascertain what else was served alongside.

When a commentator pointed out that at least he has prawns, Hong retorted, "But nasi lemak is incomplete without peanuts and anchovies!"

The Malaysiakini columnist also accused MAS of lying when news broke that MAS had explained , to an earlier complaint of incomplete nasi lemak, that in that occasion its condiments were stale and contaminated.

When contacted, Hong (right) said he has been flying with MAS for the past seven years, and had noticed the declining quality of its service during the past two years while he shuttled around, working as an independent consultant for the United Nations.

In particular, during a flight to Bangkok last year, he was served nasi lemak of a similar quality and had raised the issue with the aircrew.

“They said they will look into it, and obviously they did not improve. Then Chef Wan came across the same thing, and they responded the same; and this morning when I tried it, I had the same thing (again).

“I don’t understand why MAS can never improve on this - it is just simple. How much do peanuts and anchovies cost?” he asked.

He said he also noticed that the cabin staff do not smile as often and appear less enthusiastic, and believes it is because MAS’ budget cuts have taken its toll on staff morale.

“I just hope MAS’ management can be honest and really look into the issue,” he added.

Small stones found

Malaysiakini has contacted MAS for its comment on the matter, and is awaiting a response.

The national air carrier today reportedly said that kacang as well as anchovies are normally served alongside the nasi lemak in a separate packet, but had to be removed from all flights that day when small stones were found in the packets with the peanuts that were rancid.

"We could not replace the condiments because our suppliers had closed their business to celebrate Chinese New Year," MAS Food and Beverage manager and executive chef Zahiddin Dris was quoted as saying in The Star .

The issue broke on Jan 29 when celebrity chef Redzuawan Ismail took issue with MAS' nasi lemak during a flight to Bangkok and uploaded a photo of it on his account on the social networking site, Instagram .

"The fact that our national carrier doesn't take pride in providing our so-called most famous Malaysian breakfast that we boast about (agong-agongkan), being proud of it all over the world.

"To showcase this on an international flight without the proper cucumber and kacang as well as anchovies makes this Malaysian breakfast look really poor.

"We, Malaysians, surely know the quality of nasi lemak, with its choices of 'lauk-lauk' (dishes) that go along with it, but hey...

"What about all the international travellers?" wrote the chef popularly known by his moniker Chef Wan ( above ).

The post apparently struck a chord with many netizens, garnering some 1,000 'Likes' in a week.