Revolving restaurant in KL Tower cancels bookings after court orders it to vacate premises, offers refunds

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — Atmosphere 360, the revolving restaurant at the top of the Kuala Lumpur Tower here that offers a bird’s eye view of the cityscape, is shutting down.

The restaurant owner Asian Kitchen (M) Sdn Bhd has been given a vacate order issued by the High Court to leave the rented premises before January 4, 2024, news portal Free Malaysia Today reported this afternoon.

“The High Court’s bailiffs appeared in our restaurant yesterday morning and ordered us to shut down, and there were a lot of customers dining at the time,” Asian Kitchen CEO Ringo Kaw was quoted as saying while confirming the closure.

According to the news portal which said it sighted the court order, the legal directive was sought by Menara Kuala Lumpur Sdn Bhd and its current owner, Hydroshoppe Sdn Bhd, against the restaurant.

Kaw said that the order to vacate is particularly disheartening as the holiday season approaches, with Christmas and New Year celebrations just around the corner.

“Our reservations have been extended to next year. So we have no choice but to offer our customers a refund. I feel really helpless. We hope the authorities can treat us fairly,” he was quoted as saying.

Kaw claimed the previous KL Tower owner had made a verbal promise to extend his restaurant’s tenancy for another three years before Hydroshoppe took over.

He claimed Hydroshoppe is now only letting Atmosphere 360 stay there until the end of this year.

“We have also taken the matter to court because the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating the takeover,” he was quoted as saying.

In April, Hydroshoppe director Abdul Hamid Shaikh Abdul Razak Shaikh was charged with allegedly providing an annual bribe of RM500,000 over 15 years to former communications and multimedia minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa, purportedly to speed up the acquisition of the KL Tower concession.