Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) removes between 25,000 and 30,000 unauthorised banners and bunting monthly, a Sisyphean task that is far more complex and costly than it appears.
Many are secured with steel wires or cables tightly wrapped around poles and street lamps.
For safety reasons, DBKL personnel often perform these removals at night using ladders and cranes.
With nearly 80% of DBKL’s RM2.835bil budget last year allocated to management and operating costs, ratepayers are questioning how much of this sum is drained by avoidable, repeated clean-up work.
Save Kuala Lumpur (SKL) coalition chairman Datuk M. Ali said ratepayers were effectively subsidising businesses that profited from illegal advertising.
“This is not one-off spending.
“It is repeated clean-up work caused by the same offenders, and it makes no sense for ratepayers to keep absorbing costs that should be borne by those who put up the banners,” said Ali.
He said this expenditure went beyond administrative overhead.
“When DBKL talks about management and operating costs, people imagine paperwork and offices.
“But when it comes to illegal banners, it is very basic, very physical spending.
“Officers, contractors and support staff have to be sent out to locate the banners, take them down and dispose of them. And this is not a one-time job.”
Ali noted that because removal often happened after hours, public money was spent on overtime pay, fuel, and equipment maintenance.
“You cannot just pull these banners down by hand.
“DBKL has to use lorries, cranes, mechanical cutters, and safety equipment,” said Ali.
“Every operation uses fuel, and the vehicles suffer wear and tear.
“When patrols and removal exercises are repeated week after week, those costs add up.”
Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Fadlun Mak Ujud acknowledged that the current penalties –capped at a maximum compound of RM2,000 under existing by-laws – might no longer be effective deterrents.
He said banners and bunting fell under the Advertisement By-laws (Federal Territory) 1982 and the Vandalism By-laws (Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur) 1991.
“At present, DBKL is carrying out continuous enforcement operations. On average, between 25,000 and 30,000 illegal banners and bunting are confiscated every month,” he said.
However, Fadlun agreed that the relatively low penalty allowed repeat offenders to treat the fines merely as a cost of doing business.
“In that context, increasing the penalty is a valid suggestion,” he said, confirming that DBKL was open to reviewing the compound amount to curb the persistent misuse of public spaces. — BY BAVANI M
