
Netizens lament the fact that top grade fruits are always exported, rarely reaching on our tables
Recently, a man went viral on the internet for revealing in a video that the durians of the highest quality were in fact exported to foreign countries instead of ending up on our tables.
Netizens who followed the video post on X said they were unsurprised by his statement as this was not a new practice.
Baru tahu durian yang kita makan sebenarnya gred A je.. Yang gred AAA semua untuk eksport..🤔 pic.twitter.com/YFGoCLTkG0
— JalalMisai (@jllmisai) August 9, 2025
'This is the same with any fruits. The top grades are the quality for export. It is difficult for us to taste them,' said @ZakiHafifi.
Another netizen shared that at Jalan Gua Musang-Lojing, there are people who planted dragon fruits.
According to him the workers who sold these fruits by the side of the road informed that the Grade A and AA are all sent outside of the country.
'This is similar to the case of the vegetables at Cameron,' chipped in another netizen.
On another note, what constitutes a grade AA durian? According to the website The Thorny Fruit Company, the grading applies only to the Musang King, and not to the other clones such as D24 and D101.
Most shocking is the fact that the grading has nothing to do with the taste, texture or quality of the fruit.
'Across the fresh produce industry, the fruit that has the most optimum size and flesh has usually been sold as premium over the 'ugly fruit' or odd shaped ones. It is almost like the Miss Universe of fruit,' said the website.
Now that we know about the grading system, is it worth the extra money to get a fruit that is only beautiful in shape and size?
Sounds more like a marketing trick to maximise profit than a factor to consider when indulging in a fine dining experience. —Aug 11, 2025
Main image: Wikipedia
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Focus Malaysia
2 hours ago
- Focus Malaysia
Speaking English as an ‘Anak Merdeka': Not Westernised, just globalised
EVERY time I speak English in public, I feel eyes on me. Some admire. Some judge. Some smile. Others sneer. When I speak it fluently, confidently, without fumbling, the assumption often follows: 'She must think she's more Western than Malaysian.' As a language lecturer with over 15 years of experience and a TikTok content creator under the name Awin Rzk, I often teach my followers how to speak English with a British flair, for fun, for style, for confidence. But some netizens are quick to attack. 'Lupa daratan', they say. 'Tak hargai Bahasa Melayu'. What they fail to see is that I am not promoting arrogance, nor am I dismissing our national language. I am sharing knowledge. I am educating. I am empowering. My content, both online and in the classroom, is born from love. Love for my students, my country, and the belief that Malaysians deserve to be articulate in any room they walk into, whether at home or abroad. That assumption, though quietly harboured, is far too common in our society. And this Merdeka, I feel compelled to speak. Not just as a content creator. Not just as a lecturer. But as a proud 'anak Malaysia'. We are not Westernised for speaking English. We are globalised. And we are free. Independence was never just about driving out foreign powers. It was about reclaiming our right to choose. The right to chart our own path. The right to learn any language, access any knowledge, and express ourselves without fear or shame. So why, after all these years of nationhood, are we still policing how Malaysians speak? Why is fluency in English still met with suspicion, as if it is a sign of betrayal? I do not teach English because I want Malaysians to abandon their roots. I teach it because I want them to rise. I want them to speak at international forums, to publish in global journals, to lead in multinational companies. I want them to sit at the world's table, not quietly in the corner, but with presence, poise, and power. Our students are brilliant. But I have seen too many of them shrink during job interviews or international conferences not because they lacked intelligence, but because they lacked confidence in their English. And sometimes, it is not even their fault. It is ours. We made them believe that being too fluent was showing off. That choosing English meant forgetting where they came from. We told them to be proud of being Malaysian, but only if they spoke a certain way. Let me be clear: Bahasa Melayu is our national language, and it is sacred. It holds our soul and our history. But loving one language does not mean we must reject another. Speaking English does not dilute your patriotism. It expands your ability to be heard. We are a nation born of many cultures. We speak Malay, Chinese dialects, Tamil, Iban, Kadazan, English, and more. That is not a weakness. In fact, it reflects the very essence of who we are. It shows how truly Malaysian we are diverse, adaptable, and united in our differences. This Merdeka, I raise the Jalur Gemilang as I do every year. I sing 'Negaraku' with my hand on my heart. And I continue teaching English with purpose. Not to Westernise my students, but to equip them with the tools to thrive beyond borders while staying rooted in who they are. That is what it means to be truly Merdeka. To speak without shame. To learn without limits. To grow without fear of being misunderstood. So no, I am not Westernised. I am Malaysian. I am a language lecturer with years of experience and a digital educator who teaches out of love for this country. I believe our young Malaysians should never feel they have to choose between fluency and patriotism. Let them speak with confidence. Let them dream in many languages. Let them rise in every room they enter. Because the world is listening. And it is time Malaysia speaks clearly, proudly, and without shame. ‒ Aug 13, 2025 Shazlin Razak is the English Language Lecturer at the Centre for Foundation Studies in Science (PASUM), Universiti Malaya. The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia. Main image: Unsplash/Putra Mahirudin


New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Roti jala, thosai bring pupils together in spirit of Merdeka
KANGAR: In Perlis, two neighbouring schools have shown that food can be a powerful unifying force, especially in the spirit of the nation's Merdeka month. SK Putra and SJKT Kangar brought their pupils together through the "Rasa-Rasa Malaysia" programme, preparing traditional favourites such as roti jala and tose as symbols of unity. SK Putra headmaster Ahmad Juanda Sakaria said food is one of the easiest and most effective ways to foster harmony among pupils and teachers from diverse backgrounds. "We may differ in religion, culture and lifestyle, but these differences can be set aside when we focus on what we share in common. "Today, that common ground is food — roti jala and thosai — dishes enjoyed by both the Malay and Indian communities. "Both are made from flour, making them a simple yet meaningful symbol of unity, especially during Merdeka month when we remember that we are all Malaysians," he said. The programme, held at Dewan Putra Saujana, SK Putra, also featured the use of Jalur Gemilang colours in the dishes. "This reflects our shared identity. "We also gave pupils from both schools the chance to make Malaysian ice cream, a nostalgic treat for many children," Juanda added. SJKT Kangar headmaster K. Uthaya Kumar said the relationship between the two schools has been strong for years. "Food has the power to unite. When this spirit is nurtured from a young age, there is no reason for racial prejudice to take root. "Our pupils have a close bond with SK Putra's pupils as we share the same field and often play together, unity that has grown over time," he said. For pupil T. Sentamil Nageswari, 10, the event was an opportunity to learn about each other's culture through food. "I enjoyed meeting new friends and tasting unique Malay dishes like roti jala," she said. Her friend, Dhia A'ira Nurqisya Azman, 12, said she was excited to learn more about Indian culture and cuisine. "I've seen people eat thosai before, but today I learned more about it and the traditions behind it," she said.


The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Remembering our gentle giants
IT happened just after dawn. On May 11, as the mist hung low over the East–West Highway in Gerik, a five-year-old elephant calf stepped out from the forest beside his mother. To him, the road was not a threat; it was simply another clearing between trees, a quiet path between safety and river, between yesterday and tomorrow. But he never made it to tomorrow. Moments later, the calf – still innocent in his gait, tethered to his mother's shadow – was struck by a 10-tonne lorry. The massive truck crushed his small body. Shrouded in the dim dawn, he had emerged at the only crossing he knew. He did not survive. But it was what happened next that left the nation weeping – a tragedy that pierced the hearts of Malaysians. His mother, wholly undone by grief, refused to abandon her child. She stood vigil beside the wreckage, her trunk curling around the lorry's chassis. She screamed an anguished, guttural cry no one who heard it will ever forget. For over five hours, she remained – nudging him, mourning him and loving him. In that moment, the image of her maternal agony shattered whatever barriers may have existed between our species and theirs. The grief was universal and the love unmistakable. It was also, tragically, not the first time. The day the world listens World Elephant Day, observed every Aug 12, was not founded as a celebration but as a warning. It emerged in 2012 from a global realisation that without an urgent, coordinated action, we will lose one of Earth's most intelligent and emotionally complex creatures. Canadian filmmaker Patricia Sims, in partnership with Thailand's Elephant Reintroduction Foundation, launched the day to draw the world's gaze towards the plight of African and Asian elephants, whose populations have been devastated by habitat loss, poaching, human conflict and neglect. Since then, World Elephant Day has become a rallying point for governments, conservationists, educators and ordinary citizens – uniting them in efforts to raise awareness, foster empathy and inspire tangible solutions to ensure these gentle giants not only survive but thrive. However, in Malaysia, the call is far more urgent. It is no longer simply about awareness; it is also about reckoning. We are not merely witnesses to the elephants' decline; we are complicit in it. With every road we carve through their habitat, every forest we clear in the name of progress and every silence we keep in the face of their suffering, we edge closer to a world without them. That is not a world we should accept. When elephants fall Since 2020, at least eight elephants have been killed on Malaysian roads. In just the first six months of this year alone, three more have fallen, each one a tragic emblem of our fractured landscapes and the forests we continue to erase. Highways, like the Gerik-Jeli stretch, now slice through what were once ancient migratory paths, passed down through generations of matriarchs, routes as old as the forest itself. What were once safe, silent trails for mothers and calves have become battlegrounds of survival. The jungle no longer shelters and the roads are unforgiving. Our elephants, the gentle architects of the wild, are being driven to the brink. Their homes are shrinking, their ancient corridors erased and their young are left broken beneath tyres and steel. Every time one dies, a mother mourns, a herd slows and a memory is scorched into the soil because elephants do not forget and neither should we. We often speak of elephants in hushed reverence, and rightfully so. They are among the most intelligent creatures on earth, capable of abstract thought, empathy, tool use and grief. They mourn their dead, they recognise themselves in mirrors, they console distressed family members and never ever forget cruelty or kindness. Their hearts beat with compassion and their minds map memories that span landscapes and lifetimes. When a calf dies, a herd grieves. When a matriarch falls, generations lose a teacher. To watch an elephant mourn is to witness a soul in sorrow. More than just majestic Elephants are not just sentient beings; they are keystone species. Without them, forests wither. Their migration patterns aerate soil, propagate seeds and shape entire ecosystems. Their dung nourishes beetles, fungi and flora. Their trunks clear paths through thickets, allowing light to reach the forest floor and new life to bloom. Remove elephants from the equation and the forest begins to falter. Biodiversity diminishes, rivers lose their rhythm and the delicate balance of nature starts to unravel. Their extinction would not merely be a loss of majesty; it would be a collapse of function, systems and life as we know it. We are not without hope but hope must be made a policy. In the wake of the Gerik tragedy, voices rose, civil society demanded action and conservationists called for wildlife crossings, overpasses and underpasses. Experts urged the implementation of speed limits and sensor-triggered signage in high-risk zones. There are efforts underway by NGOs, wildlife departments and international partners but they are not enough unless every highway, plantation, township and policymaker commit to coexistence. The mother in Gerik stood her ground for her son. Will we stand ours? Final plea As we mark World Elephant Day today, let us do more than share pictures or quote statistics. Let us remember that somewhere, deep within the Belum-Temengor rainforest, a mother elephant still roams, her calf buried in her memory. Let us recall that elephants are not icons; they are individuals – beings of thought, sorrow and joy. Let us finally understand that every time we lose an elephant, we lose a part of ourselves – our compassion, ecology and heritage. The next time a calf steps onto a road, let him not meet a lorry but a bridge built by empathy. Comments: letters@