Operating licence of Raj’s Banana Leaf Restaurant revoked
KUALA LUMPUR: After much deliberation, the operating licence of Raj’s Banana Leaf Restaurant in Bangsar has been revoked.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) Licensing and Petty Traders Development Department director Anwar Mohd Zain said the committee that deliberated on the issue, chaired by Socio-economic Development executive director Datuk Ibrahim Yusoff last Friday, made the decision to revoke the licence.
“We went through their explanation and they gave their view. We looked at all angles.
“The committee decided it is best to revoke the licence,” he said yesterday.
Anwar said that the revocation of the licence is only for the restaurant’s Bangsar branch and not the restaurant chain’s other branches in the Klang Valley.
The revocation of the licence came after a 30-second videoclip emerged on social media, which allegedly showed workers squatting at the back of the restaurant scrubbing and rinsing plates in what appeared to be a puddle of muddy water in a pothole next to a drain.
Last week, Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Mohd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz told StarMetro that he wanted the outlet to be shut down permanently to send a strong message to all eateries in Kuala Lumpur.
He was also quoted as saying that DBKL had been kind in the past, which resulted in many eateries having bad hygiene practices.
DBKL issued a showcause letter to the proprietors of the restaurant, asking them to explain the unhygienic practices at their premises.
Enforcement officers conducted a twohour inspection of the premises last week before issuing a closure notice under the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur Food Establishment by-laws 2016.
The Health Ministry also issued three food handling notices to Raj’s Banana Leaf Restaurant for not sending its workers for anti-typhoid vaccinations and for not attending food handling training.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the notices were issued because the restaurant was not registered with the ministry and the premises failed to be pest-free.