KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) today clarified that its enforcement operations targeting signboard licensing violations across the city are intended to ensure that all business premises adhere to established by-laws.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, DBKL emphasized the importance of complying with the Advertisement (Federal Territories) By-Laws 1982 and the Local Government Act 1976. These regulations mandate that business signboards and advertisements must prominently feature the national language, with the provision to include other languages as long as the Malay language remains predominant.
DBKL explained that under these by-laws, the national language must take precedence in terms of size and prominence on business premise signboards. However, exceptions exist for firms, associations, or companies registered under the Business Registration Act 1956, the Companies Act 1965, or the Societies Act 1966, which may include non-national language words without translation requirements.
The
statement further detailed DBKL’s role in processing and approving signboard applications as part of the composite license that accompanies the business premises license. One of the mandatory requirements for signboard licensing is the submission of visual confirmation from the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) to DBKL.
Throughout this year, DBKL, in collaboration with DBP, conducted enforcement operations at six shopping malls, issuing 31 notices to various premises for licensing violations. These violations included businesses operating with a business license but lacking signboard approval, which could result in compound fines and signboard removal. Additionally, businesses with both required licenses but failing to meet advertising conditions, such as having the national language text smaller than another language, were also penalized.
The enforcement actions come amidst reports of concerns from the Malaysian Chinese Restaurant Association, which stated that their member businesses are experiencing rising
operational costs due to DBKL’s stringent signboard regulations.