News Room - Sigma Persada

By YIP YOKE TENG
teng@thestar.com.my

INFORMATION of all billboards in Petaling Jaya will be available online from October so that the public can help watch and prevent abuse of the billboard policies by the outdoor advertising industry.

The information, including status, location as precise as GPS coordinates, company, rental period and other relevant details are being digitised and posted online to enable easy monitoring. The data will be upgraded every three months.

The system, called e-Iklanluaran was launched by mayor Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman and councillors at the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) headquarters yesterday.

Also present at the function were Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4A’s) president Datuk Vincent Lee, Malaysia Advertiser Association (2A’s) president Khoo Kar Khoon, Outdoor Advertising Association of Malaysia (OAAM) president Mohammad Azlan Abdullah, past president Datuk George Frederick, All Petaling Jaya Residents Association (Apac) chairman Johan Tung Abdullah and former chairman Liew Wei Beng.

Soon, residents can visit http://eiklan.mbpj.gov.my:8008/mapguide/iklan to check the details of the billboards they find in their areas

The public would also be better informed of the billboard’s status by checking the green information plate on the structure itself.

The green plate contains information on the status of the billboards.

Billboards with the ‘A’ plate complied with the guidelines implemented in March 2009 while billboards with the ‘B’ plate did not strictly comply with the guidelines but did not pose any danger to the public.

Roslan said there were 208 billboards under category ‘A’ that could be maintained at the sites until Dec 2012 while the 173 under category ‘B’ would need to be transferred to the approved alternative sites before Dec 2011.

“The council has capped category ‘A’ at 420 sites,” he said, adding that 85 of the total 433 billboards in the city did not fit into either category and would be demolished

Roslan also said that operators of category “B” billboards had to be given a reasonable period to relocate the structures they had invested in before the guidelines were approved.

Of the 85 illegal billboards, 61 have been given notices while 24 will soon receive notices.

Billboard operators were required to remove the structure between seven and 14 days after receiving the notice.

The council will act on their behalf if they fail to do so.

Councillor Ahmad Yusof Ludin said that so far, 34 billboards had been dismantled while 25 would be removed before Hari Raya Aidilfitri, and the balance were being processed and would be demolished as soon as possible.

Following two applications for judicial review by outdoor advertising companies Laguna and Ganad, the demolition of 10 billboards under the companies is put on hold pending court decision.

Subang MP R. Sivarasa will be representing the council in the cases.

The billboard in the MBPJ landscape department, which was approved due to a mistake in interpreting the then new guidelines, will be removed as soon as a new site is approved as agreed on by the operator.

Liew questioned the status of a billboard located on a traffic island near the SMK Kelana Jaya premises, asking why the billboard fell under category “B” when it had infringed the guidelines. The case was then brought back for review.

Phase 2 of e-Iklanluaran will see the data integrated into the GoogleMap application, more detailed statistics and analysis of the application of billboards, and an alert will appear when the tenancy ends.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/9/2/central/6961987&sec=central