I urge Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to mind his business of managing the needs of the state.

Lim must to leave the 'foreign cooks' matter to local councils and focus on issues concerning the rakyat, who feel the pinch - such as on issues as no new low-cost housing in Penang.

The Penang government should put more effort in major issues, such as the SP Chelliah housing project launched more than one year ago and which is yet to be implemented.

Many pre-war heritage houses in George Town are no longer owned by the local people, with the buyers being mainly Americans, British, Singaporeans, Japanese and also people from Hong Kong and mainland China.

Modern cafés and restaurants have replaced many traditional industries that cannot anymore afford the rents in George Town. Rentals have increased so drastically over the past six years.

Lim should pay more attention as we are losing our George Town, which is becoming an international city. It is meaningless if heritage George Town is left with only the celebration on July 7 every year.

The patrons of these food outlets will know what to do if the quality and taste of the food are not up to their expectations.

Apart from maintaining their quality, more importantly, the operations of these hawkers must meet the requirements of health and cleanliness .

OH TONG KEONG is secretary of Penang Gerakan.