06
The Health | April, 2020
| Local News |
Boycott
unhygienic
eateries
S
elangor State Health, Welfare,
Women Empowerment and
Family Committee chairman
Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud advised
customers to avoid dirty eateries.
Boycotting dirty eateries would
send the message that unhygienic
practices would not be tolerated.
Dr Mariah added local authority
inspectors would carry out thorough
checks on eateries and stalls which receive
complains about its poor hygiene practices.
District and local council health inspectors
were urged to step up inspections to
guarantee that the standards of cleanliness
and high hygiene are maintained at eateries
in Selangor.
“Food outlet operators are either
ignorant or they could not care less about
hygiene and cleanliness. The cleanliness of
restaurants is often affected during peak
hours, especially when an eatery suffers
from workers shortage,” said Dr Mariah,
after the Karnival 3W (Wellness, Welfare
and Women) launch at Taman Rakyat in
Klang recenty.
She advised customers to assess the
cleanliness of the restaurant by doing
a simple check on washrooms. Check
whether the handwashing area is clean and
toilet provides liquid soap and paper towels.
If customers come across restaurants
which have failed to meet with the hygiene
standards, they are encouraged to lodge a
complaint with the Food Safety and Quality
division in Selangor’s district health
department.
The local authorities noted that checks
on complaints received on eateries show
Johor,
Selangor
enforce
smoking
ban
STATE Health Departments in Penang
and Johor are working steadily to
combat smoking in public spaces
and at eateries. Notices and fines are
issued to the offenders as an effort to
reduce the smoking habit and prevent
complications from smoking to
non-smokers.
The Penang Health Department
issued a total of 694 fines amounting to
RM173,500 to smokers at public places
last year. According to the Penang
State Health Department director, Dr
Asmayani Khalib, no one is allowed to
smoke in any public vehicle or at the
terminals.
Eateries are popular with
Malaysians.
operators are more focused on making a
profit than cleanliness. Health inspectors
also shared it was common to see waiters
using the same cloth for multiple purposes,
including wiping tables and other surfaces,
and also failing to wash their hands.
StarMetro reported it visited the back
lanes and alleys of dozens of popular
eateries in Kuala Lumpur and discovered
multiple levels of food safety violations
and severe hygiene issues. Some of these
infringements even occurred in posh
eateries with high ratings by online
travel companies.
“They spend a lot of money on
upgrading the front of the outlet. But are
stingy on the kitchen area, resulting in a
packed kitchen, with staff operating under
unhygienic conditions,” Kuala Lumpur and
Putrajaya Health Department director Dr
Param Jeeth Singh was quoted.
Dr Param added it was clear operators
cared very little about hygiene and
food safety in their outlets. Many of the
In Penang, all
buildings and
public spaces
within the
259ha George
Town
heritage
site, except
homes, are
gazetted as
no-smoking
zones. The
ferries, ferry
and bus terminals,
airport and heritage
areas are no-smoking areas
under the Control of Tobacco Product
Regulations 2004, and each offender
can be fined RM250.
“Last year, the department launched
Ops Penang Sihat to catch offenders,”
Dr Asmayani shared. Despite the
active enforcement by the State health
department, there are still a number of
them carrying on with their smoking
habit.
In Johor, a total of 557 notices
have been issued to offenders caught
smoking at eateries over the last two
months. Dr Aman Rabu, the Johor
State Health Department director,
kitchens were dirty for months. The
refrigerators were filthy and contaminated.
The operators must ensure the kitchen,
fridge and food storage areas are cleaned
regularly.
Mohd Nazam Harun, the director
of Culture, Arts, Tourism and Sports
Department, said a boycott would be
the tipping point in Kuala Lumpur’s
war against these unhygienic eateries.
He added the city council does not
have the numbers to conduct weekly
or even fortnightly checks on these
establishments.
“We are locked in a cat-and-mouse game
with these traders and operators. Boycotts
will give us an edge and drive home the
message that unhygienic practices won’t
be tolerated. This will hit them where it
hurts — their pockets,” he said.
He also said City Hall would be stepping
up enforcement on dirty eateries this year
in an effort to ensure KL was clean and
hygienic before APEC 2020. — The Health
said fines amounting to
RM139,250 were also issued
to smokers who violated
the no-smoking ruling
at eateries.
“We will continue
monitoring the
situation and increase
efforts to ensure that
the people of Johor
are free from cigarette
smoke and remain
healthy,” said Dr Aman
Rabu.
He added the department was
concerned about the health impact
on the non-smokers who exposed to
cigarette smokes at eateries.
Restaurant owners were also fined
for not adhering to the smoking rules
outlined by the department. He added
some 128 notices with fines worth
RM32,000 were slapped on restaurant
owners.
“Out of the notices issued, 122 were
for owners who failed to display the
‘no smoking’ signs while 16 were for
owners who provided ashtrays for
smokers,” he said.
Dr Aman said the department
checked some 12,499 premises
throughout the State since the
no-smoking at eateries ruling took
effect this year.
The Johor State Health Department
also aimed to reduce the number
of smokers in Johor, especially
among those who were underage.
A 12-year-old boy was among those
issued a compound by the state Health
Department for smoking at an eatery.
“Out of the 557 notices issued, 56
involved underage smokers who were
caught at eateries,” he said.
Due to the prevalence of smoking
among the underaged, the department
has introduced the IMFree programme,
an educational smoking prevention
programme aimed at primary school
and secondary school students. Oral
Health without Smoke, an intervention
programme, is also another initiative
that encourages underaged and
schooling smokers to quit the habit.
The Health Ministry fully enforced
the smoking ban starting from Jan 1
and has also announced that smoking
and vaping are prohibited in all
eateries this year. Those who violated
the Health Ministry’s ban risk being
fined RM10,000 or jailed up to two
years. — The Health