Tanjung MP Ng Wei Aik said the businessman, Patrick Ooi, could see him if he wanted.
“He can come and talk to me, and I will listen to his problem. We can see what can be done to help him with his compliance issues at the cafes.
“I may be able to help him ensure his cafes comply with council regulations and requirements,” he told reporters today.
Ooi and his Kaffa cafes made the news last week after the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) demolished the illegally built toilet at the Kaffa Espresso Bar at the Penang International Airport.
Two days later, his other cafe on Lebuh China in town was booked for operating without a licence and for not taking measures to prevent pests and vermin from breeding. Council enforcement officers reportedly found rat droppings at the back of the cafe.
“For issues like hygiene and cleanliness, the cafe just needs to make improvements. We can also see what needs to be done for the cafe to apply and get the licence.
“The owner should have come and talked to me. After all, Lebuh China is under my parliamentary constituency. I may be able to help him apply for a licence,” Ng said, adding that the licence to operate must be renewed yearly with the operator obeying all council rules and regulations.
Ng said it was normal for people to become unhappy after the council took enforcement action against them or their premises.
He said he had dealt with many people in his constituency who had gone to him with council enforcement issues.
“I have seen cases like this. The most I can help the business owners is by asking the council to delay enforcement action for one to two months to give the owners time to get things right.
“Within the grace period, they must try to comply with the requirements or send the necessary applications. If they still fail to do so, then enforcement action cannot be stopped,” he said.
Ooi has claimed that enforcement action against his cafes had been prompted by his statements in the Chinese media criticising Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, and that the action followed a Facebook posting by a DAP councillor ‘warning’ that enforcement action would be taken.
He said the sequence of events could not be a coincidence.
The issue was also picked up by Penang Gerakan and MCA, which lodged reports with the police and the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission alleging possible power abuse and cyber-bullying.
State local government executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow and MBPP public health standing committee alternate chairman Ong Ah Teong both said the enforcement was an administrative exercise and had nothing to do with what Ooi had said about Lim.