If you’re a fan of Middle Eastern cuisine, you may be familiar with the name Damascus. The Bukit Bintang store is known for its shawarma – but on the night of 4th December, the restaurant went viral for a not-so-good reason.
In a video shared by TikTok user @/amirul_70u, a lorry bearing the Immigration Department of Malaysia logo was seen at the Bukit Bintang restaurant. According to the video, immigration officers have raided the restaurant, supposedly due to its workers not possessing a legal working permit. TikTok user @/chef_arizal_pitboybbq shared a closer look at the incident with his video, showing several Damascus staff escorted out of the restaurant by authorities.
@amirul_70u Damascus bukit bintang pesta ini malam #fypシ゚viral #fypage #damascusbukitbintang
@chef_arizal_pitboybbq Damascus Bukit Bintang kene operasi
Netizens have reacted to the incident, with the majority wondering why the restaurant was raided by immigration officers. Many netizens had guessed that the staff at Damascus do not possess legal work permits. The raid also got netizens wondering about the future of the restaurant. However, some netizens agree it’s good that the authorities are taking action against the issues of foreigners working in Malaysia without a legal permit. Many also urged the Immigration Department to look into other businesses in the Kuala Lumpur area.
Damascus Bukit Bintang is not the first Middle Eastern business in the city to be raided by immigration. A few months ago, the dessert store Zaitoun was ordered to shut down by authorities for not possessing a proper business license to operate in the area. Another Bukit Bintang store was also closed for the same reason – and in both incidents, authorities have also stated that the foreign staff did not have valid work permits.
As of writing, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall and Damascus have yet to release any statement on the incident – but what do you think happened? Was it just a routine check? Or will Damascus soon face the same fate as Zaitoun?
