1. Introduction to Traditional
Malaysia is the home of several ethnic groups found its roots in the colonial period in which
hundreds and thousands of immigrants who come here to find an honest living in the
country prosperous. The majority of Chinese immigrants who worked in tin mines and the
Indians placed along the rubber plantations brought with them their culture do not forget
the rich culinary heritage. Culture to go along well with their cooking where unusual
traditional gathering usual accompanied with a different mouthwatering cuisine, which
become Malaysian food recipes (Mymalaysia, 2007).
In the Malaysian context, food can be viewed as a category of food that has health-
enhancing properties, and which does not a drug, chemical or vitamin and not prescribed
by doctors or other formally qualified medical practitioners (Hassan S. , 2008).
In addition to nutritional value, food also has a significant societal, historical and religious
role. However, the relationship between food choice and diet, exercise and health choice
remains a topic that is not well understood because of the dynamic of food toward the
current trends of Malaysian lifestyle. In Asia, especially Malaysia, foods properties have
been associated with cultures and ethnic groups for centuries. The term functional food is
not usually used in most Asian countries and it is more commonly referred to as “health
food” (Tee, 2004). Knowledge of traditional and functional foods is often passed from
generation to generation through oral traditions.
Food constitutes an important aspect of the religious and spiritual rituals. The role of food
in cultural practices and religious beliefs is complex and varies among individuals and
communities. In respecting and responding to the needs of Muslim consumers
comprehending the significance of cultural and religious dietary practice is paramount.
However, only a few consumer behavior models to date make any allowance for consumers
whose value systems vary according to their culture and cultural values (Douglas and
Craig, 1997; Finucane and Holup, 2005; Hassan, 2008; Hassan et al., 2009).

2. Nevertheless, it has been determined by preliminary studies that the motivations and
determinants of consumer attitudes and consumption behavior are the core of personal
values. One aspect of consumer identity is food consumption, and the process of
consumption entails tradition and social commitment. In marketing research, there is little
evidence concerning the effect of culture, religion and cleanliness on consumers. Although
globalization makes the world more homogeneous we still need to be aware and sensitive
to the cultural difference. This is because human behavior, including market behavior,
occurs within a cultural context.
The situation toward food preparation in Malaysia mostly govern by the concept of ‘Halal’,
according to Jakim (2000), Halal foods are permitted and other than the exception of pork
and its by-products most meat and vegetables are deemed as acceptable. A product with
Halal certification is deemed to be fit for Muslim consumers because it fulfills the
requirements of Shariah law. In other words, all foods in Muslim context must be halal and
haram foods as in Quran verse prohibited or ‘Haram’ foods to be consumed. Such foods
are cited clearly in the following verse of the Quran,
“Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead animals – cattle-beast not slaughtered, blood, the
flesh of swine, and the meat of that which has been slaughtered as a sacrifice for other than
God [...] (Quran, 5:3) [...] and intoxicants” (Quran, 5:91-92).
Although the concepts of Halal and Haram, which are based on the interpretations of the
Quran and the Hadith by learned scholars of Islam, the ‘ulama’ more or less influence all
aspects of Muslim life and not just food consumption, this study only focuses on the food-
related aspects. However, there is an argument that Islamic values are different from
Muslim values due to the fusion of traditional cultural practice in Muslim communities
(Ebady, 2004). Nevertheless, it is difficult to separate these two values as they are blended
into the cultural and personal values of Malay Muslims in Malaysia. Muslims, to a certain
extent, consider that they are what they eat and that their flesh and blood are derived from
the food they consume.

3. Theory of Reason Action
Food is classified according to its effects on the human body and whether it induces through
food and beverage consumption. The knowledge pertaining to their usage is steeped in
tradition and is verbally handed down from one generation to another (Ahmad, 1996).
There is a fine line between food and cleanliness which a gap that participate in Malaysia
community.
The study showed that consuming certain types of functional and traditional food is a
practice that is embedded in Malays. In some families, children are taught the importance
and effects of certain foods as they grow up. This strongly influences their later acceptance
of traditional and functional food, especially culturally based functional food. Malay
Muslims consume traditional foods that they believe have certain ingredients that promote
health. For instance, Malays have used rainforest herbs and plant roots as traditional
supplements for centuries. They believe that these herbs have natural functional effects.
This traditional knowledge is passed on by older to younger generations.
Personal values are an instrumental value of compassion and terminal values toward life
accomplishment. Researchers have long emphasized the importance of personal values in
predicting consumer behavior and developing marketing strategies. (Homer and Kahle,
1988; Scott and Lamont, 1977). Perceived value is the consumers’ overall assessment of
the utility of a product based on the perception of what is received and what is given,
concerning consumer behavior. Which in the theory of reason action the subjective
normality included toward societies. Additionally, research on perceived value in emerging
markets and transitional economies remains scarce despite their economic potentiality.

4. Perceived value consist of 2 concepts, that are hedonic and utilitarian value dichotomy and
among them is the most-used classical approaches, along with the acquisition versus
transaction value difference. The utilitarian represents an offering’s usefulness inefficient,
task-specific, and economical terms, meanwhile, the hedonic value as perceived to the
overall feeling that is derived from an offering’s uniqueness or symbolic meaning, or from
the emotional arousal and imagery evokes. These explaining the differences of perceived
value concept, and the behavior very much cultivates Malaysian culture through the time
periods.
Cultivation and Culture
Culturally based values are the pervasive foundation that underlies consumer preferences
for traditional and modern food dishes. In Malaysia context, there is a need both traditional
and modern cuisine, only methods of preparation and new generation more towards the
functional food concept.
In this theory, cultural values consist of constructs such as ethnic cultural background,
food belief, knowledge and oral tradition. All of these constructs are important
determinants in consuming food especially traditional foods that full of values, patient and
product end attributes.
Toward Malaysian Muslim society, traditional food practices are mostly created based on
their cultural beliefs and customs, which have been inherited from generation to generation.
Cultural values are belief systems that a society is committed to and that are handed down
from one generation to the next. Cultural values play a role in determining individual
behavior by creating frameworks of acceptable and unacceptable behavior that guide
individual actions (Fieldhouse, 1995; Foster, 1962).
It can be seen that cultural values influence knowledge and health. This is because culture
is acquired and conveyed formally or informally by verbal instruction, non-verbal cues or
personal demonstration (Neal et al., 2006). Culture is a learned system of categories, rules,
and plans for how people live their life that form a complete design for living (Kluckhohn,

5. 1946; Foster, 1962; McCort and Malhotra, 1993; Neal et al., 2006; Schiffman and Kanuk,
2002; Schwartz, 1994). Foster (1962) observed that culture is not an accidental collection
of customs or habits practiced randomly by consumers: it normally passes from one
generation to the next.
Oral tradition is a valuable source of learning about one’s own culture, and it helps develop
cultural values (Chamarik, 1999). Although the term is not formally used, traditional foods
are an integral part of the traditional culture of Malay Muslims and toward others
community in Malaysia to adapt and embrace.
Affects
The study had showed and confirmed that consuming certain types of food is a practice
that is embedded towards all races in Malaysia including Malaysia local native. In some
families, children are taught the importance and effects of certain foods as they grow up.
This strongly influences their later acceptance of functional food, especially culturally
based traditional food and functional food, example like ‘am-ulaman, petai, jering’.
Malay Muslims consume traditional foods that they believe have certain ingredients that
promote health. For instance, Malays have used rainforest herbs and plant roots as
traditional supplements for centuries. They believe that these herbs have natural functional
effects.
This traditional knowledge is passed on by older to younger generations. The personal
values in predicting consumer behavior and developing marketing strategies (Homer and
Kahle, 1988; Scott and Lamont, 1977). Rokeach (1969) asserted that personal values are
more useful than attitudes for understanding consumer motives and buying behavior.

6. Personal values are determined by cultural values, however, they are not the same thing.
According to Yau (1994, p. 49), cultural values differ from personal values because:
[...] personal values are referred to as the beliefs of individuals in a culture while cultural
values refer to normative beliefs which individuals have about how they are expected to
behave by their culture. Insofar as culture influences value formation, it is ultimately the
consumer who decides whether to follow, adapt or even reject culturally based values.
(Yau, 1994).
Currently, Malaysia now is moving toward rapid development. The function of traditional
food still exists, however, from a research study showing that it slowly deteriorating and it
is a must not to neglect the heritage of traditional food preparation versus the modernity.
Malaysia has experienced rapid structural change and social transformation (Embong,
1998), which have created a modern generation quite different from previous generations.
This social transformation affects the core values of consumers. According to Yau (1994),
although consumers may have a few culturally based values, they acquire hundreds of
personal values throughout their life.
In notion with above statement is particularly true for traditional food consumption.
Changes in lifestyle modify value systems. Individuals inherit cultural values from their
ancestors and continue to acquire values throughout their lives. Cultural backgrounds may
lead to personal value dimensions, which, in turn, confirm expectations. Variations in
personal, societal and cultural experiences not only generate differences between
individual value systems but also generate differences in the stability of value systems
(Rokeach, 1973).
In general, referring to Malaysian, they are knowledgeable about traditional food. This
knowledge commences in early childhood and is acquired throughout life and is likely to
be reinforced by experience. Some knowledge may be lost, however, some early food
experiences can last a lifetime. For example, oral tradition is one of the important sources
for acquiring knowledge concerning traditional functional food for Malay Muslims. This

7. is because oral tradition is a valuable source of learning about, and understanding of, one’s
own ethnic culture. Consumers can potentially access several sources of information from
their environment and the changes toward the community.
Malay Muslim individuals consume foods to achieve certain standards in their life in
accordance with their cultural and personal values and which also reflect Islamic values.
Food not only benefits the body but also the soul. Islam has a holistic approach to spiritual
and physical health. The Quran has a guideline on how individuals should nourish their
bodies with, not only lawful nutritious food but also with faith. Healthy eating not only
satisfies basic hunger but also has an effect on how well we worship the Creator:
“O mankind, eat from whatever is on earth [that is] lawful and good and do not follow the
footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy” (Quran, 2:168).
Communication
We cannot ignore the effect of culture, religion value systems and environmental forces on
dietary behavior. For Muslims the Quran and Sunnah from Prophet Muhammad (s.w.a)
provide specific guidelines concerning how Muslims should live their lives. Muslims have
a responsibility to take action on how to choose acceptable lifestyles that engender personal
well-being.
It a partial concept of food to be prepared either in traditional or modern, whereby each
aspect plays an important role. The method and preparation of foods focusing toward 1
main factor that is health and benefit. Thus, the relationship between communication and
food complement each other. The basic need and want of individual passes on through
communication either verbal or non-verbal. A cultivation that creates the culture and
brought gratitude to the community.

8. As cultures and ethnic compositions toward the inter-ethnic relationships are not static.
Cox (1967) suggested that there are three basic forms of information available to
consumers that are marketer-dominated communication channels, consumer-dominated
channels, and neutral sources. Each of these information sources provides different benefits
to the consumer and incurs various collection costs.
In general, it appears that the type of information sought depends upon what the consumer
already knows. For example, information in marketer-dominated channels stems from
television, salespeople, packaging and other sources under the control of the marketer.
Consumer sources of information include all those personal communications, not under the
control of the marketer, as well as information controlled by the marketers. Neutral sources
of information are neither consumer dominated nor marketer-dominated, such as consumer
reports and media articles. Neutral sources of information are neither consumer dominated
nor marketer-dominated, such as consumer reports and media articles. As it is studied that
communication does influence individual toward judgment and perceived value to accept
or withdrawal behavior and in such ways the communication attributes are significance.
Conclusion
The current market in Malaysia provides us with an understanding of the effects of various
interpretations concerning the consumption habits of Malaysian traditional foods and
heritage. It’s had been identified as important factors that consumers consider in forming
preferences for foods traditional or modern, it is based on individual perspective.
The awareness toward industrial food practitioners can be use as food consumption models
for different types of markets within the overall population. Insights into the importance of
the respective dimensions allow marketers to design value-added functional food products
that best accommodate Muslim consumers in multicultural countries.

9. For example, implementing Halal signage will show that the products are clean, safe,
nutritious and produced stringently under the requirements of the Islamic Dietary Law. As
such, a certified Halal product is not only welcomed by Muslim consumers locally and
worldwide but is even acceptable by non-Muslim consumers because Halal-certified
products represent a symbol of quality.
Finally, and specifically to Malay Muslims in Malaysia, it is proposed that the future
extensions of the concept studied could investigate possible additions to the future
implementation of traditional foods, sanitation, and hygiene.
Health benefits associated with heritage and traditional food seem to have particular values.
The concepts and measures need to be refined and developed in order to better understand
the preference of functional food as a source of market value not only for Malaysian
Muslims but also for other countries with a Muslim majority population.
For our reference and knowledge from Hadith related by ‘Tirmidhi’ to support this statement;
The Prophet said: “No one will be allowed to move from his position on the Day of
Judgment until he has been asked how he spent his life; how he used his knowledge;
how he earnt and spent his money; and in what pursuits he used his health”.
Authenticated by Al-Tirmizi as reported by Abu Barza al-Aslami.

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