Monday September 20, 2010
‘Ali Baba’ eateries are growing
By CHRISTINA TAN
[email protected]
KUALA LUMPUR: Local restaurant owners are facing competition from the growing number of “Ali Baba” eateries set up by foreigners. Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association deputy president T. Muthusamy said a number of local restaurants were renting out their premises and business licences to earn easy money.
He said the premises or business licences were leased out for between RM500 and RM800 per month. “The number of foreign restaurant operators is not as big as hawkers, but it is growing. We hope the local authorities and Government will address this issue,” he said.
Muthusamy said that foreign operators were prevalent in areas like Klang and Masjid India. The operators, mostly Indians, Bangladeshis and Nepalese, sell banana leaf rice, roti canai, nasi kandar and other local cuisine. Muthusamy added that many of the foreign operators do not adhere to health regulations.
“They don’t care about the hygiene because their sleeping partners will be penalised if caught,” he said. Muslim Restaurant Operators Association of Malaysia president Noorul Hassan Saul Hameed said some locals even sold their businesses to foreigners for over RM100,000.
He added that the situation was unfair to locals who paid taxes and abided by the rules while the foreigners would send their earnings out of the country. A Chinese daily reported recently that many hawkers were renting out their stalls or business licences to foreigners for RM20 to RM30 per day.
