SHAH ALAM: A video of a restaurant worker in Kota Kemuning here throwing fish on the road to kill them has gone viral on social media.
The video that has been shared over 2,000 times shows the worker picking up the fish from the road in a back alley and throwing it repeatedly in an attempt to kill it.
The shot then pans to the restaurant's name as well, and is allegedly located in the Kota Kemuning neighbourhood.
Malaysians are crying foul, describing the act inhumane and an unhygienic method of killing the fish while some have come to the defence of the worker saying it is a common practice.
However, many are questioning why food preparations are being carried out in the back alley instead of the kitchen, despite clear guidelines by local councils.
The video was first shared on a forum on Facebook discussing KL issues and was later shared to the Kota Kemuning community group.
Residents in the area were shocked that a popular restaurant resorted to such tactics.
A number of the restaurant's patrons have openly decided to boycott the outlet.
One user called Peter Chung even commented that they have seen the same method used in the past and have avoided the restaurant over the last 10 years.
However, another user Katherine Wong commented that the restaurant owner should have be shown some compassion.
"We should show some compassion to the restaurant owner. They are trying to serve the KK community. Maybe they used a traditional method of killing fish. The producer of the video should have advised the owner before posting it online. It will only hurt their business, and KK community may lose another good restaurant in KK," her comment read.
The Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) meanwhile said they will conduct checks at the premises as soon as possible.
MBSA's corporate communications head Shahrin Ahmad said they will not compromise on the cleanliness of food premises.
He said the cleanliness of a food outlet not only depended on the food preparation, utensils, storage and the worker's physical and health conditions.
"We also look at the raw ingredients used in the food and drink preparations. All these need to be taken into consideration for the wellbeing of diners," he added.
The city council has been cracking down on dirty eateries of late and have been consistently conducting surprise checks on premises throughout Shah Alam.
Just yesterday, MBSA closed five premises in Section 25 Shah Alam for failing to meet cleanliness standards.
A total of five notices and 30 compounds were issued as well. The shops were given 14 days to clean up before a second inspection to determine if the outlets can reopen for business.
