Tuak

Tuak refers to two types of a fermented sugars-based alcoholic beverage: either made of palm sap and sugar in parts of islands Java, Borneo, Lesser Sunda Islands, Moluccas, Sumatra, and Sulawesi across Maritime Southeast Asia; or made of glutinous rice, ragi, water and sugar in parts of inland Borneo including East Malaysia, as well as Brunei. The palm tuak is a popular drink among the Bataks of North Sumatra, while the rice tuak is popular among the Ibans and other Dayaks of Kalimantan and Sarawak, especially during the Gawai Dayak festivals, weddings, hosting of guests and other special occasions. In 2012, it was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of Malaysia in the category of National Heritage Drink under the Department of National Heritage. In 2025, it was gazetted among the 117 local Malaysian food and drinks of national heritage under the Declaration of Heritage Objects.