Don’t bring home bak kwa from Malaysia yet
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has reminded members of the public that they cannot bring home bak kwa, or barbecued pork slices, from Malaysia yet.
Under current rules, Malaysia is not an approved source country for travellers to bring back meat such as pork and beef for private consumption, according to SFA.
SFA issued the reminder on Facebook on Jan 18 after multiple Facebook users shared posts in various groups about difficulties in bringing bak kwa back from Johor.
In a recent post on the Complaint Singapore Facebook group, user Wang Everleigh lamented having to dump RM500 (S$150) worth of bak kwa at a Singapore Customs checkpoint.
Several Facebook users on the MY SG Road Trip – Eat, Play, Stay Malaysia! group reported having their cars checked thoroughly when entering Singapore.
User Joseph Khor said he saw people being asked to throw away the meat products from their Chinese New Year grocery haul.
Some users said they thought the rules have been relaxed after the Food Safety and Security Bill was passed on Jan 8.
Under the new law, residents and visitors are meant to be able to bring back a greater quantity of commonly consumed meat items from more countries. But the implementation date for the revised limits will be announced only later, SFA said in a Facebook post on Jan 10.
For now, each person can bring back up to 5kg of barbecued pork slices from approved source countries such as Australia and Japan, according to SFA’s infographic in its Facebook post on Jan 18.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now