KUANTAN: The Pahang Advertisers Association will request for a deadline extension on the enforcement of using Jawi on business signage.
Its chairman Alex Chow said a meeting with the Kuantan Municipal Council’s (MPK) business development and licensing department had been productive and showed signs that an extension could be considered.
“We will be submitting a formal request to delay the enforcement to the end of the year.
“We also need time to fulfil clients’ orders. There are more than 10,000 signboards in Kuantan and only some 30 signage manufacturers in the district,” Chow said.
An MPK circular dated April 3 ordered all business premises under its jurisdiction to start using Al-Taibah type Jawi script on signboards.
The date of enforcement had been fixed for Aug 1, causing concern among the business community who feared there would not be enough time to comply.
The circular came after Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah expressed his wish to see the Jawi script uplifted in the state by being used on road and building signboards.
Chow said MPK clarified that the Jawi wordings only applied to the heading of the signboard that described the type of business activity.
“For example, only words such as restoran, kafe, kedai telekomunikasi need to be translated to Jawi.
“There’s no need to replace the entire signboard. An additional sticker will suffice as an option,” he said.
Chow said MPK had also agreed to provide the association with a list of frequently used words in the Jawi script.
“Normally a client who wishes to use Jawi will have to apply to Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka for an official translation and this may take several days. A list will make things more convenient for all parties,” said Chow.
He also said that the association had proposed for new clients to get a 50% licence discount.
“This is to encourage them to start using Jawi on their new signboards. We hope this can be considered as well,” he said.
