The cabin of the cars we drive are something that needs lots of thought during the design stage. It is quite necessary as this is the place that most of us spend during commutes. It is also the space where we use to carry our carry items like our shopping and small goods, if we are too lazy to pop the boot that is. The cabin is also the space where we put our take-away meals and drinks. We have our cup holders for our Starbucks coffee and other storage space to carry those burger boxes too.

However, in Asia, especially this region we carry our food and drinks in the ubiquitous transparent plastic bags tied with a plastic string (very plastic indeed). These bags do not come with a flat base for putting them flat and if you fill it up with our local favourite, the 'teh tarik' (something loosely translated to pulled tea or milk tea) then you need someplace to hook it.

These days most cars do not have the pop up door locks as it is safely located at the door handles instead of up where the door sills are. And you cannot use the coat hook that is usually located at the grab handles near the roof of the car. Imagine hanging a plastic bag filled with hot tea up there. What you need is a proper hook located somewhere where it is easy to reach and safe to carry the hot the tarik bags.

Some cars like the Malaysian Proton Exora MPV and some variants of the Perodua Myvi come with these hooks standard. The Proton Exora has one up front on the dashboard too (the main picture above). Proton even acknowledges this as the 'teh tarik hook' as quoted by a veteran Malaysian journalist. Volkswagen has this as an option to be used for those with the car's head rest supports, which is quite forward thinking for a European brand in order to cater to local markets.

While you can buy these 'teh tarik hooks' really cheap at any car accessory shop, I think these hooks should be made standard on all cars sold in South East Asia. Manufacturers, do take note.

-Proton Exora seat hook

- VW snakey option