The Pelita Nasi Kandar (

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

: Nasi Kandar Pelita; ta, பெலிடா நசீ கண்டார்) is the largest

nasi kandar Nasi kandar is a popular northern Malaysian dish from Penang, originally introduced by Tamil Muslim traders from India. The meal consists of steamed rice combined with an array of distinct curries, sides dishes, and gravies. The selection of curr ...

restaurant chain in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. Its main headquarters is in Taman Chai Leng,

Perai Perai is an urban settlement in the city of Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia. It lies at the southern bank of the Perai River and borders Butterworth to the north. Perai gave its name to the city of Seberang Perai, the mainland half of the State o ...

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

. The parent company also owns several hotels. The chain has outlets in multiple cities, including one in

Chennai, India Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...

. As of 2017 the chain had 28 outlets. It was included in the

Malaysia Book of Records The Malaysia Book of Records (or MBR) is a Malaysian project to publish records set or broken by Malaysians. The project complements Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad's ' Malaysia Boleh!' (''Malaysia Can!'' in English) campaign. As with th ...

in 2016. The chain was founded in

Butterworth Butterworth may refer to: Places * Butterworth (ancient township), a former township centred on Milnrow, in the then Parish of Rochdale, England, United Kingdom * Butterworth, Eastern Cape, now also known as Gcuwa, a town located in South Africa ...

, Penang as a food stall in a coffee shop in Chai Leng Park market. It opened additional outlets in the Malaysian states of Penang,

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area ...

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

and

Negri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia which lies on the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It bor ...

. The firm purchased a multistory building in Ampang, and because it only wanted to use the ground floor as a restaurant, the firm turned the upper stories into a hotel. In 2017 the chain denied rumors that the corporation was not owned by

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

and that therefore its food was not

halal ''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with ''haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification kno ...

. A director who owned 25% of the company shares said he'd been attacked on social media for being Hindu. In 2019 ''

Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...

'' included the chain in their list of those they'd like to see open outlets in the US. In March 2020 during the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

the chain announced it would close all outlets in response to the government of Malaysia's

Movement Control Order Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy F ...

. Directors Tan Sri Dato’ Murugan Doraisamy Dato’ KK.Sihabuteen Dato’ Uswath Khan *

References

{{Reflist 1995 establishments in Malaysia Restaurants established in 1995 Restaurant chains in Malaysia Multinational food companies Privately held companies of Malaysia Malaysian cuisine Penang