Penang guesthouse operators, who are facing closure of their businesses, have no choice but comply with local council regulations although they might be too restrictive and costly for them.

Despite handing over a memorandum detailing their problems, urging the federal government to intervene and help them, Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz told them to obey council rules.

“When you want to convert a private home to be a commercial place to be rented out, you must comply with the local government,” Nazri said, during a press conference after attending the opening ceremony of the The World Tourism Conference in Penang.