Ng says DBKL should have a clear standard for size differences between languages on signboards.
KUALA Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) needs to give more clarity on its signboard ruling, business owners in the capital city say.
Persatuan Peniaga & Penjaja Jalan Alor secretary Simon Ang, when contacted, agreed that while using Bahasa Malaysia on signboards was important, it might not make a difference to businesses in tourist areas.
“Some businesses in tourist spots mainly target international tourists who may not understand the language.
“Including Bahasa Malaysia on signboards is sufficient.
“DBKL should have engaged with businesses first to discuss the issue.
“Thorough studies and research need to be done before enforcing,” Ang added.
Malaysia Retailers Association council member Ricky Ng said the language ruling would not significantly impact businesses in tourist areas.
“Businesses there will be fine as long as there are other languages on the signboards relevant to their target customers and tourists,” he said.
While it was not an issue for Bahasa Malaysia words to be larger, DBKL should set a clear standard for size differences between languages, Ng said.
“DBKL should also notify business owners of non-compliance and provide a reasonable timeframe, such as 60 days, to rectify their signboards before taking them down,” he added.
StarMetro reported that DBKL carried out an enforcement operation on Nov 21 across almost all parliamentary constituencies in Kuala Lumpur after the end of seven-day notices which were issued to non- compliant businesses.
In response to criticism, DBKL said Bahasa Malaysia wordings on business signboards must be larger than words in other languages to uphold its role as Malaysia’s national and official language.
However, City Hall clarified that if a business, association or company name registered under the Registration of Businesses Act 1956, Companies Act 1965 or Societies Act 1966 contained words not in Bahasa Malaysia, those words need not be translated into the national language.
