‘Nasi Paku’ Trend Sends Child To The Hospital In Need of Surgery, Restaurant Switches To Rubber Band

By Ameera Rosli  •  07 Jan 2022 in News

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Nowadays, there are so many restaurants and cafes available for us to choose from that it becomes somewhat of a hassle to decide where to eat.

With the prevalence of food vlogs on TikTok, it seems like some of these eateries resort to having a USP or possibly even a gimmick to stand out amongst the rest.

But the one gimmick that is completely unwelcome is the use of nails instead of rubber bands to wrap the food together.

Unfortunately, at Nasi Sumatera Haji Ismail, they’ve been using nails to seal the packaging of their food for 10 years now, as it was apparently their tradition.

In terms of cost, it was far pricier to use the nails (RM80 a pack) rather than the typical rubber band (RM8 a pack) so in reality, the only reason they kept up the tradition despite the obvious safety hazard was because it was their “trademark.”

According to the shop’s helper Mohammad Faizol Ramli, 27, their customers never questioned their use of nails because they were simply used to it.

Nasi Paku Haji Zul di Taman Barakah, Tanah Merah, Kelantan ini merupakan salah satu dari ratusan premis perniagaan yang menggunakan ‘paku’ sebagai penyemat kertas bungkusan nasi. Lihat betapa kecilnya paku itu dan bagaimana kecuaian ibu bapa boleh menempah ajal anak-anak kecil. https://t.co/8kFiSLrJpG pic.twitter.com/Iqmr7fWYvG

— Adam The Plant Dad ⚯͛ (@ATMology) December 31, 2021

Another establishment that was named was Nasi Paku Haji Zul in Tanah Merah, Kelantan that used the same method.

Obviously, this was a ticking time bomb and it unfortunately affected a child who had to be rushed to the emergency room in fear that she had swallowed one of the nails.

Seorang kanak² dibawa oleh keluarga ke kecemasan hospital kerana dikhuatiri tertelan paku. Kanak² tersebut mengalami sakit perut & menangis tidak henti.

Imbasan xray mendapati paku tersebut telah sampai ke bahagian perut.

Pembedahan kecemasan terpaksa dilakukan untuk..

Thread pic.twitter.com/jjG7g7JXnq

— Public Health Malaysia (@health_malaysia) December 31, 2021

According to a tweet by Public Health Malaysia, the child was crying in pain and after an X-ray, it was found that the nail had already made its way to their stomach.

The next step for the child was surgery in order to get it out.

Ever since the public backlash and the involvement of Kementerian Kesihatan (KKM), Nasi Sumatera Haji Ismail has since halted their use of nails and switched to rubber bands last Saturday.

Health Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah stated that any establishment that violates the Food Act 1985 which involves the storing, spreading or use of any foreign items, poison or harmful substances could be fined the maximum of RM10,000 or jailed for not more than 2 years or both.

Let this be a lesson to other establishments to not resort to harmful or dangerous gimmicks in order to appear special.

If your food is truly delicious, customers will come in droves without the need to nail your food packaging together.