Hot business:  A mendoan seller dips seasoned tempeh (fermented soybean) slices into hot cooking oil to make the traditional snack in his stall on Jl. Raya Sawangan, Banyumas regency, Central Java. A Banyumas businessman has recently been under criticism for exclusively possessing the patent to produce mendoan since 2010. (JP/Agus Maryono)

Bowing to public pressure, a businessman from Banyumas regency, Central Java, says he is willing to hand over the patent he obtained for mendoan, a well-known snack made of tempeh (fermented soybeans) and seasoned flour, after receiving criticism from local residents and authorities.

Banyumas-born Fuji Wong, who runs a drinking-water refilling business with a nationwide distribution, has been in the spotlight following recent media reports on his possession of the patent to produce mendoan, a food traditionally associated with his hometown.

Fuji, who lives in Sokaraja district, filed an application to secure the exclusive right to produce mendoan with the Justice and Human Rights Ministry on 2010. The ministry approved the application two years later and granted him a patent for the product until 2018.

Speaking to The Jakarta Post on Thursday, Fuji said he was ready to relinquish the patent should the Banyumas regional administration and local residents so desire. '€œI will be very happy to bequest the patent to Banyumas residents without any legal demands,'€ he said.

What distinguishes mendoan from regular tempeh is its thinness, at 3 millimeters, akin to a piece of paper. Its is usually served in 50-square-centimeter or 150-square-centimeter slices.

To cook mendoan, the raw slices are dipped into rice-flour dough mixed with spices and chopped green onion before being half-fried. Mendo means '€œhalf-done'€ in the Javanese language.

The snack is best eaten while it is still piping hot, along with cabe rawit (small hot chilies).

Earlier this week, Banyumas regent Ahmad Husen expressed his dismay upon learning that the patent for mendoan had been awarded to one individual.

Ahmad said he would file a formal complaint to the ministry and request it to revoke the mendoan patent granted to Fuji.

'€œThis is unacceptable. Mendoan has belonged to all Banyumas people for a very long time. ['€¦] The person who registered the patent must withdraw it,'€ he said.

Fuji, meanwhile, insisted that he had no commercial motive behind his move to register the patent for mendoan, claiming that he did not sell it or run any mendoan-related business.

'€œMy intention was to protect the [mendoan] patent from [being usurped by] foreigners, as I'€™ve learned that our batik cloth was once claimed by Malaysia [as its cultural product],'€ he said.

Fuji acknowledged that he had been shocked to discover that his efforts to secure the mendoan patent had created controversy, particularly in social media.

'€œThe [efforts] to secure the patent began in 2008 but it has only been recently scrutinized,'€ he said.

'€œIf Banyumas regional administration wants to take over the patent according to existing procedures, then I'€™ll be happy to give it up.'€ Local residents, meanwhile, shared mixed views regarding the issue.

Yusmanto, a Banyumas resident, for example, criticized Fuji'€™s decision to take over the mendoan patent, saying that it could leave small mendoan sellers open to potential legal disputes.

'€œIt means those who make and sell mendoan without a patent could be sued in court,'€ he said.
Khasanatul Mufidah, another resident, applauded Fuji'€™s move.

'€œHe intended to protect a local product from being taken over by other countries. I think we need to appreciate that,'€ she said.

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