Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has accepted the remarks by popular chef, Chef Wan, that the Penang government’s move to ban foreign cooks in the state was “ridiculous”.

“We accept Chef Wan’s opinion with an open heart. This is his opinion, he does not agree to the move, but others may agree.”

“We are not afraid of criticisms, we are open to it, and are open to feedback from the public,” Lim said at a press conference today.

Lim said Chef Wan ( left ), whose real name is Redzuawan Ismail, is welcome to remark or criticise the state’s latest move in the matter although the latter is not a Penangite.

“We respect his opinion, even though he does not agree with us. This is why we are collecting public feedback about the move.

“If the public say no, it wont happen. I guess Penangites feel more strongly about this,” he added.

The celebrity cook was quoted in The Star today as saying that Malaysia will become a laughing stock in the eyes of the world if Penang implemented its plan banning foreigners from working as the main cook in the hawker food business.

However, Chef Wan opined that Lim was certainly “misguided and short-sighted” when proposing the move.

"Wouldn't it be better to train them properly and supervise them to do a better job?" Chef Wan was quoted saying.

Lim ( left ) today reminded that the move only applies to foreign cook manning hawker stalls, and not all restaurants.

He added that the proposal was to preserve Penang’s famous foods, including its branding.

“People come to Penang principally for its tasty food. They may go other places for other reasons, but for Penang, we are famous for our brand.

“Penangites miss their food when they go to Kuala Lumpur, for example, because the food does not taste like it did before, being cooked by foreigners. Do you want this to happen to Penang?” he queried.

Chef Wan slams Penang CM on foreign cook ban