is a hard liquor made from rice. To the native peoples of Sarawak, tuak may also refer to any alcoholic drink made from fermenting any carbohydrate-rich substance besides rice. As national cuisine National cuisines are coveted constructs by tourism industries that need to serve tourists a variety of "local" or "authentic" dishes. In reality the ethnic makeup of countries often gives rise to dispute over ownership or inclusion of dishes in a respective national cuisine. The dishes that are most attractive to foreign tourists are heavily promoted as "typical" or "local". Malaysian cuisine has been promoted through Malaysian media and advertisements as inclusive of the cuisines of many Asian ethnic groups and cultures, and Malaysia as a singular location to experience the a diversity of authentic Asian foodways. When the Ministry of Culture launched a program to promote cultural tourism it was decided that Malaysia would be "promoted as a meeting point of many different dishes from various ethnic groups" living in the country. Another goal of national cuisine is ethnic harmony in modern nation states. Malaysia saw culture as a path to cohesive national identity after the Malaysia Race Riots in 1969. In 1979 Islam was formally recognized as "an important element in the national culture." Staples Rice Rice () is the most important staple food in Malaysia. According to Indonesian-born food and cookery writer Sri Owen, there is some evidence for rice cultivation found in the state of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo dated 2300 BC, and about 900 years of history for the state of Kelantan in West Malaysia. Today Malaysia produces about seventy percent of the amount of rice it needs to support itself and the rest is imported. This is a matter of policy as the government believes that national resources can be used more profitably instead of attempting to achieve self-sufficiency with rice production; the prevalent attitude is that revenue generated from its industries enables the country to import up to half the rice it needs. Nevertheless, the government is fully committed and involved in planning, allocating resources and managing subsidies for the rice farming industry. The state of Kedah is considered the "rice bowl" () of the country, accounting for about half of Malaysia's total production of rice. Plain steamed white rice, to be served with side dishes of meat or vegetables, is typically prepared with an electric rice cooker at home. Some households