COMMENT | My all-time favourite lepak place is at a stall situated under a big tree, next to an old condo where I used to live, along Old Klang Road in Kuala Lumpur. The stall selling thosai, appam, putu mayum and vadai, along with the usual Malaysian favourites such as roti canai and nasi lemak, is owned by a Malaysian.

However, the cook, the roti maker and the man in charge of the drinks – apart from the waiters – are all Indian nationals.

From years of frequenting the stall, I have learned that some of the Indian nationals working there, including the cook, are migrant workers who were scammed by their agents of job opportunities in Malaysia.

Having spent a fortune to travel here from their home country, they had no means of returning home, hence juggled a few jobs before ending up at the stall.

Quite frankly, I have never had any qualms with the cleanliness or quality of food for all the years I’ve dined at the stall. I personally have visited their open kitchen where I have witnessed the workers cooking, washing dishes and disposing trash.

Not only were they running the kitchen as if it was a kitchen in their own home, the dishes too were cooked with much love, as if they were cooking for their family. No surprise then that every time my friends and I dine at the stall, we feel very much at home.

I wish I could say the same about all the stalls and restaurants I go to.

I remember visiting a restaurant near my parent’s house after moving to Penang early last year. The restaurant was run by an all-Malaysian team - including the cooks, cleaners and waiters.

Despite being locals, the food lacked local flavour, instead it was loaded with MSG. In terms of cleanliness, let me just say that my insides scream for sympathy every time I end up at the restaurant (not by choice, I assure you).

Why am I telling you all this?

Recently, Human Resource Minister M Kulasegaran announced a ban of foreign cooks in restaurants, saying restaurant owners would only be allowed to recruit...