It’s no secret that many Malaysians have tried and failed to secure a seat at entrepreneur and celebrity chef Khairul Aming’s restaurant, Rembayung, amid overwhelming demand.
It has also been reported that many of the bookings were snapped up by scalpers, with one account even posing as the eatery and allegedly demanding a RM300 fee.
Malaysian claims Rembayung’s booking process feels like “bidding”
Khairul has since responded to a netizen who highlighted the difficulties many people have been facing due to the scalpers.
The netizen questioned why bookings were opened to the public in the first place if scalpers could simply dominate the available slots. They also likened the booking process to “bidding”, claiming that some scalpers were even communicating on behalf of the restaurant and deciding which slots to offer customers
“My sincere ask to Khairul Aming, but if the booking is dominated by scalpers and they are the ones determining the slots, why is the booking even open to the public? Now, booking an appointment seems like bidding. To my surprise, these scalpers are even communicating on behalf of the restaurant and determining which slots to give you. The slots they offer are at odd hours, and when we ask for other slots, [we don’t get them]. After some time, I’ve also kind of lost interest in even trying,” the netizen wrote.
“Give me some time to work out a solution”
Khairul later addressed the issue, acknowledging that he’s still working on a solution to deal with the scalpers and better accommodate his 15 million followers.
He explained that while several solutions have been suggested, including requiring IC (MyKad) numbers for bookings, he believes scalpers could still find ways around them.
“For a long time, I’ve been asking what solutions are available, but no one has been able to propose a solution for handling 15 million followers for a restaurant that can only accommodate 200 people at a time.
“Some have suggested requiring IC numbers when making a booking. But what’s stopping scalpers from getting the buyers’ IC numbers in advance and entering them later? It’s still the same problem,” his caption read.
Acknowledging the frustration surrounding the issue, Khairul also apologised to the public and asked for some time and space to work out a solution.
“I apologise to everyone who’s frustrated, but I’m stuck too. No restaurant in Malaysia has faced an issue like this before, and I have no one to turn to for advice. I’m asking everyone to give me some time and space to find a solution.”
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