In the past month, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has been busy inspecting restaurants and eateries all over Kuala Lumpur, and so far, they have shut down about a dozen shops and they’re not even done! They even revoked Raj’s Banana Leaf’s operating license permanently as a stern warning to other shops.
To put an end to all the dirty and unhygienic practices, stricter rules are now being implemented to ensure that restaurants abide by the standards set by the authorities.
Starting July 1, the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) said that all 24-hour restaurants in Petaling Jaya must close from 1am to 3am to clean up the place. Failing to comply with this will result in their operating licence being taken away, according to The Star.
A total of 98 restaurants would be affected by this new rule, said the mayor of Petaling Jaya, Datuk Mohd Azizi Mohd Zain.
Source: The Sun Daily
“We want the 24-hour restaurants to strictly close the business from 1am to 3am. They must use the time to clean the place well,” he said after chairing the council full board meeting yesterday (June 27).
“The council decided on the timing because we do not want the restaurants to give us any excuses when we carry out inspections.”
He added that if they were allowed to clean up at their own set time, they would not do it.
“If our officers found a restaurant dirty at 3am, they may say that they planned to clean up soon. If we set a time, they cannot give that excuse,” Mohd Azizi said.
Source: The Star
However, this effort to increase the standard of cleanliness at eateries was not well-received by operators as they said the mandated hours are peak business hours.
Ayoob Khan Mohamad Yakub, president of Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association agreed with making the clean-up mandatory, but said that the fixed hours proposed were not conducive and would prefer it to be from 4am to 6am instead.
Others were concerned because the mandatory closing time clashes with the World Cup’s live-streaming at many 24-hour restaurants between 2am and 4am every day.
However, Mohd Azizi said, “There will always be some international matches or games played at the wee hours. After World Cup it would be the English Premier League.”
“It is best we implement the ruling in July as there has been numerous reports in the media related to poor cleanliness standards of restaurants.”
Source: The Star
He added that restaurants will be required to place a notice at their shops stating that they will be closed for cleaning from 1am to 3am.
However, this new implementation will not affect 24-hour fast food outlets and hotel restaurants as such businesses have already displayed high standards of cleanliness.
“Based on our checks, even 24-hour fast food outlets at petrol kiosks are clean,” he said.
What do you think of the closing time for clean-up between 1am and 3am? Share with us your thoughts in the comments!
Also read: Many Restaurant Workers in M’sia Are Not Hygienic, Carry Food-Poisoning Bacteria
