Line Clear Nasi Kandar

Line Clear Nasi Kandar (30 August 2012)


B. Melayu

Line Clear Nasi Kandar (GPS: 5.41965, 100.33253) is one of the famous nasi kandar stalls in Penang. It occupies an alleyway off Penang Road, just next to Restoran Yasmeen, another nasi kandar shop.

Line Clear is said to have been operating since 1930. Its popularity has been further enchanced in recent years through the many recommendations by bloggers (many of whom unfortunately take a herd approach of blindly recommending without having tried and personally attesting to its quality). I wish more bloggers can differentiate between "famous" or "popular" and "best", and would use famous or popular to describe nasi kandar stalls they have never visited before, but only heard from others, and "best" for nasi kandar that they have personally tried and like the most.

Line Clear is opened 24 hours a day. The best time to enjoy it, away from the crowds, is during the late afternoon, when the stall is "clear of lines". If your nasi kandar only becomes delicious if you have to wait in line, then head for Line Clear around midnight. That's when you can join the Penang night owls queueing for the nasi kandar.

It is worth noting that since 15 February 2016, the Line Clear business will rotate on an annual basis among three cousins, after one of the cousins retired from the business following the resolution of a family feud, which is described in The Line Clear Saga. The different cousins will prepare the nasi kandar their own way, so do not expect the taste to stay the same year over year, as the business is rotated annually.

My visits to Line Clear Nasi Kandar

Updates on Line Clear Nasi Kandar

14 March, 2017: The Star (Line Clear and another nasi kandar outlet ordered shut)
The Penang Island City Council has shut down the famous Line Clear Nasi Kandar for two weeks after it failed to comply with basic hygiene and health standards. According to Ong Ah Teong, the Penang Island City Council Public Health alternate chairman, a read rat and cockroaches were found inside the kitchen. According to owner Sahubar Ali, 59, this was the first time ever that the council had ever shut it down [over hygiene issues] in its 70-year history.

14 February, 2016
The new management of Line Clear Nasi Kandar under Abdul Latiff Ali Thurkarnai, 55, got back the stall and began operating on Monday, 15 February, after the previous management accepted court decision and vacated the stall on Thursday, 11 February, 2016.

30 January, 2016
The Star reports that Abdul Hamid Seeni Parkir has accepted the eviction notice and will retire from the operations in Penang, while his children will move their operations to another outlet on Jalan Raja Abdullah in Kuala Lumpur's Kampung Baru. With his retirement from the business, the Line Clear premises in Penang will now rotate among his three cousins.

21 January, 2016
The Star reports that the High Court has dismissed the application by operator Abdul Hamid Seeni Parkir, for a judicial review to quash a decision made by the Penang Island City Council, with Judicial Commissioner Collin Lawrence Sequerah ruling that the City Council had acted reasonably and legally, and not ultra vires or in breach of natural justice. The court granted Abdul Hamid three weeks to vacate the premises.

1 February, 2015
The Star reports that business was as usual at Line Clear, as the operator had claimed to have obtained a stay of execution preventing the Municipal Council of Penang Island (MPPP) from tearing down the stall.

31 January, 2015
The Star reports that Line Clear Nasi Kandar outlet continues to operate although officers of the Municipal Council of Penang Island (MPPP) had planned to take action against the operator that day. The report says that outlet operator Abdul Hamid Seeni Pakir, 60, states that he has obtained a stay of execution against further (council) action, though he did not produce any court documents to prove this.
It is reported that the operator had through his counsel Md Yusuf Idris filed an application on Monday (26 Jan 2015) against the MPPP decision, and that Penang High Court justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah had granted the stay of execution on Friday (30 Jan 2015). The reason the operator was unable to produce the court document was that the court's counter had closed for the day, and the counsel said they would get the documents on Monday (2 Feb 2015).

22 January, 2015
The Star reports the response from the Municipal Council of Penang Island (MPPP) saying that it (moved in to take away tables and chair from Line Clear) to impair its operations as the operator has no license for the business. The MPPP president Datuk Patahiyah Ismail clarified that the MPPP had to take that action so that the legitimate licensed operator is allowed to conduct business there. The confiscation of the tables and chairs was done under the Hawkers By-Law 1979.

20 January, 2015
The Star reports that enforcement officers from the Municipal Council of Penang Island (MPPP) raided Line Clear and took away tables and chairs in a 4:00 am operation. The trader affect, Abdul Hamid Seeni Pakir [sic], 60 [sic], remained defiant. It appears here that he is unwilling to relinquish management of Line Clear to the next cousin partner of the business per the rotation agreement set by MPPP, but it is not reported what his reason would be. The Star reports Abdul Hamid describing the MPPP's action as "totally inconsiderate" and claimed that no prior notice was given.

31 October, 2014
The Star reports that the Municipal Council of Penang Island (MPPP) has agreed to issue a rotation license to Line Clear, with T. Abdul Latiff, 53, holding the license in 2015, Sahubarali China Mohd Hanibah, 56, in 2016, Pathumah Iskandar, 65, in 2017, and Abdul Hamid Seeni Pakeer [sic], 64 [sic], in 2018. The MPPP warns that its officers will move in to vacate the present operator, Abdul Hamid, if he fails to surrender the premises by 31 December, 2014. That was the ultimatum from MPPP while the family members continue to tussle among themselves over the issue of Line Clear management.

6 June, 2014
The Ant Daily explains the Line Clear fued, which arose when the agreement by the family members to rotate the operations among four cousins was breached when Abdul Hamid Seeni Parkir did not pass the stall operations to any of his three cousins, T. Abdul Latiff, Sahubarali China Mohd Hanibah and Pathumah Iskandar.

2 June, 2014
While patrons enjoy one of the most popular nasi kandar in town, there is an undercurrent brewing at Line Clear that is not so clear to customers. According to the Star, management of the business is rotated among four cousins who are partners in the business on an annual basis. However, the issue came about when one of the partners is said to have refused to abide by the rotation arrangement that had been in place since the 1950's.
As a result, the other partners were setting up stalls in a back lane near the restaurant, causing clutter, and drawing the irk of the Municipal Council of Penang Island (MPPP). The MPPP Licensing Division had a meeting with the traders on 28 June, 2013, but could not come to a satisfactory understanding. The MPPP then wrote to them on 23 December, 2013, asking them to come up with a solution within two weeks or face eviction. The date came and went and the stall continued operating.

Entrance to Line Clear Nasi Kandar (30 August 2012)


Customer selecting dishes at Line Clear (13 March 2016)

Line Clear on 360° Google Maps Street View

Line Clear Nasi Kandar is on the Map of Jalan Penang

List of Nasi Kandar Restaurants in Penang

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