KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 ― The operator of the Line Clear nasi kandar outlet in Penang claimed sabotage yesterday, after the city council there shut it down for the next two weeks after discovering pests in its premises.

Abdul Kader Zainul Abidin said he had only taken over from the previous operator at March 1, and called the directive harsh to his staff since they were still in the midst of putting their operations in order.

"We were sabotaged!” Abdul Kader was quoted saying by Malay daily Berita Harian today.

The famous nasi kandar stall, located in an alleyway along Penang Road, is operated on an annual rotation basis between four cousins.

Abdul Kader said he had already lodged a report to the Pulau Pinang City Council (MBPP) last week over the rats in the drainage near the premise, before employing pest control last Friday.

"The enforcers should know about my complaint and cannot accuse us of not taking care of cleanliness because we have never faced any serious problems before,” Abdul Kader said.

"Usually in a restaurant’s cleanliness case, the order to shut down is only enforced for a short period. But we were ordered to close until March 27, in addition to that the enforcers ignored my request for a mere compound.”

Yesterday, the state Health Department together with MBPP held a joint operation that started in the morning and ended at 1pm, to inspect the cleanliness of restaurants in the city.

City councillor Ong Ah Teong, who is licencing and public health standing committee alternate chairman, told Malay Mail Online they inspected three restaurants yesterday and took action under Section 11 of the Food Act 1983 for their failure to meet hygiene criteria for restaurants.

Besides Line Clear, another nasi kandar joint Yasmeen adjacent to the former, was also ordered to shut down for clean-up for the same period.

Another restaurant, Sup Hameed, was fined RM1,000 after it was found to be operating in dirty conditions.

Ong said they were unable to inspect other restaurants in the inner city due to an influx of tourists from four cruise ships that made a port call in Penang yesterday morning.