After backlash, DBKL adviser insists crackdown on retailers wasn’t just aimed at Chinese stores

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 — The City Hall’s (DBKL) recent action on language violations on billboards was against all businesses and did not target Chinese stores, said an advisory board member.

Although DBKL showed photographs of the application that mainly involved signs in Chinese, Lai Chen Heng said action was also taken against Bangladeshi, Korean and Arab media outlets that did not comply with DBKL’s bylaws.

The regulations stipulate that Malay must be the dominant language in signs in terms of font size and placement, with other languages ​​permitted provided they appear secondary in both terms.

“The law is the law. And the national language is important and must be emphasized,” he said in a Channel News Asia (CNA) report.

The CNA said it found that DBKL’s inspections also covered businesses welcoming migrants from countries like Bangladesh.

Lai said some companies were fined for failing to meet specifications, while others were fined for deviating from their approved submissions.

However, he admitted that the enforcement of the law – which came about by chance after former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s open complaint – should have been more consistent.

“I don’t know why (the operations are being carried out) now. The DBKL carries out operations on illegal structures and illegal traders, but not really on street signs.

“But this is something that was planned months ago,” he said.

On Monday, the Malaysian Chinese Restaurant Association reportedly claimed that its businesses were facing increased operational costs due to the DBKL’s strict enforcement of traffic signs.

DBKL responded saying it was simply apply the laws as defined in the Advertising (Federal Territories) Regulations, the Local Government Act and the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Act.

Last month, Dr Mahathir complained that the Chinese and English signs became commonplace in the city, some containing little or no Malay.

He said English was understandable because it was the lingua franca, but he questioned the importance of hanzi.

Dr Mahathir said he had heard that local display of Hanzi for signs was so ubiquitous that Chinese media referred to Malaysia as Little China.