Stirring Up Malaysia, With a Serving of Quinoa

To millions of Malaysians, rice is at the center of most meals. Many start and end their day with it. Rice is the basis of the national dish, nasi lemak, which translates to “fat rice.”

So when Prime Minister Najib Razak said this past week that he preferred quinoa because it was “better than rice,” he stirred up a tempest in a lunch bowl.

Najib is facing general elections under a cloud of a corruption accusations. He has denied wrongdoing in connection with a graft scandal centering on the 1Malaysia Development Berhad state fund.

Though he has been blamed for a higher cost of living since a goods and services tax began in 2015, Najib is widely expected to win a third term, thanks to a divided opposition, an upbeat economy, rural support and the redrawing of electoral boundaries that critics say favors the government.

But now the prime minister has been labeled out of touch with ordinary Malaysians because of his quinoa remarks, made while he was visiting a hospital Thursday.

Opponents pounced and other Malaysians took to social media to fret and fume when Najib was caught saying: “I don’t eat rice. I eat quinoa. My son introduced me to it.”

Mahathir Mohamad, a former prime minister who is leading an opposition coalition in elections expected by August, took to Twitter to jeer the prime minister and to express his support for Malaysia’s traditional grain.

“I only eat local rice,” Mahathir tweeted.

Another opposition leader, Lim Kit Siang, said he had never even heard of quinoa.

“I had to ask around whether anyone knew anything about quinoa,” he said, according to the news agency Malaysiakini.

He noted that quinoa “is about 23 times more expensive than rice, eaten by 30 million Malaysians.”

Lim added, according to Reuters, “The 14th general election will be quinoa vs. rice; clean government vs. kleptocracy; and Najib vs. people of Malaysia.”

Adults in Malaysia consume, on average, 2 1/2 plates of rice a day, according to a paper on ScienceDirect, a database for scientific and medical research, that explored the challenges of the rice industry in the country.

Rice — the second-most important crop in the world after wheat — was subsidized by the government until 2015.

After social media users took exception to the quinoa remarks, Najib’s office said Friday that “certain quarters” had manipulated his comments. Quinoa, his office said, was part of Najib’s healthful diet and had been recommended by a doctor.

In the Q&A session, the prime minister said he had to watch his diet because he did not exercise as frequently as he wanted, according to the Singapore news site The Straits Times.

“I like to eat,” he said. “My problem is I love food — like most Malaysians.”

He explained that quinoa — originally from South America — has fewer carbohydrates and sugar.

“It is better than rice,” he declared.

Najib said he was thinking about whether quinoa could be cultivated in Malaysia. “I’m trying to find out whether we can grow quinoa or its equivalent in Malaysia.”

But the grain is more expensive than rice; prices soared between 2008 and 2013 as global demand for the grain increased.

Najib also said that Malaysians had to live within their means if they wanted to improve their lives. “If you live within your means,” he said, “God willing, you will be all right.”

It’s not the first time Najib has caused outrage with his culinary comments. He was jeered in 2014 after responding to complaints about the rising cost of living by pointing out that prices had fallen for some popular foods, like water spinach.