Crowning of Durian a Thorny Issue Amid Indonesia, Malaysia Claims Over Fruit

While every Malaysian may agree that durian (Genus: Durio), the king of fruits, is synonymous with Malaysia, the Indonesians are saying no. 

They insist that they have a stronger claim to the durian, creating a thorny issue in Malaysia’s bid to make it the country’s national fruit. 

On November 18, Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan disagreed with Malaysia’s proposal, citing Indonesia’s larger production as justification. 

“Indonesia produced almost two million tonnes of durian in 2024. That is far above Malaysia. With this fact, I believe durian is Indonesia’s national fruit”, he said, as reported by CNBC Indonesia. 

Zulkifli highlighted data from the BPS institute showing Indonesia’s durian output reached 1.96 million tonnes in 2024 – the highest in five years – with major production hubs across Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi. 

“By contrast, Malaysia’s production is lower, although the export value has increased, thanks to premium varieties such as Musang King", he added.

On November 10, The Star reported that the Durian Manufacturer Association (DMA) had applied to Malaysia's Agriculture and Food Security Ministry for the recognition of the durian as the country's national fruit and to declare July 07 as National Durian Day. 

The Malaysian national football team have climbed two spots to 116th in the FIFA world rankings released Thursday. The last time Malaysia achieved this level was 20 years ago. 

This does not detract from the document fraud scandal rocking Malaysian football over the country’s fielding of ineligible foreign-born players. In other words, the Football Association of Malaysia became creative and generated seven fables about seven players. Well done, FAM (and their accomplices) for turning Malaysian football into a "farce"-ball!