THE Penang Island City Council (MBPP) wants all hawkers and street food vendors to employ only locals to cook their world-renowned dishes, as it is important to safeguard quality control and the traditions of preparing the meals.
MBPP president and Lord Mayor Datuk A. Rajendran said that the council prefers all hawkers and vendors subscribe to such practises as Penang is regarded as a leading gastronomic haven.
"The hawkers are small enterprises. Unless they are in large scale ones such as restaurants or franchise eateries where there is indeed an acute shortage of local staffers, hawkers can easily cook for themselves or hire local persons to do it."
Penang allows foreigners to cook in restaurants and large eateries but not in food courts although the enforcement has been relaxed.
Rajendran said that the enforcement would be stepped up if there are persistent complaints that hawkers in private food courts are relying on foreigners to cook.
They can hire foreigners to conduct other job functions, such as dishwashing and serving food, but the cooks should be Malaysians and adept cooks, said Rajendran after this year's inaugural full council meeting of MBPP.
Currently, there is a full ban on foreigners cooking at food courts owned by MBPP.
The complaints arise from those operating private food courts, which Rajendran said MBPP can control by making the guidelines a requirement when renewing the licenses of hawkers and street food vendors here.
He added that quality control is essential in maintaining the high and tasty food standards in Penang, where its food delights are a key part of Penang's tourism appeal.
In another matter, the full upgrading of City Hall in the Esplanade would likely be done only in 2027 (next year), as the council wants to use the existing funds to improve its delivery of services to the ratepayers.
Rajendran also said that the developer of the Gurney Bridge, which connects Gurney Drive through the man-made Andaman Island and onto the Straits Quay retail complex in Tanjong Tokong, would stop issuing QR codes to enable motorists to scan to drive through.
"This is improper, and I have told the developer about this."
So, the developer has immediately stopped issuing it, as the original intention was to measure the traffic flow through the new route between Gurney Drive and Tanjong Tokong here, said Rajendran.
He added that the public is allowed to use the Gurney Bridge from 7 am until 11 pm daily, only, and there is no need to scan a QR code for it. - January 7, 2025.
