No mercy for illegal advertisers

To be removed: Sayuthi (right)) looking at the illegal ads nailed onto a tree trunk in Taman Putra Perdana during the operation.

A total of 1,072 summonses were issued for illegal advertisements although only 923 licences for banners and buntings were approved last year in the Sepang municipality.
Sepang Municipal Council president Sayuthi Bakar, who led a team of enforcement officers on an operation on Tuesday to remove illegal buntings and advertisements in Taman Putra Perdana in Puchong and other areas, said the council would hand over a list of telephone numbers to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to be blacklisted.
Most of the illegal advertisements removed were those advertising houses for sale and money-lending services.
All these advertisements were nailed to trees on main roads.
Sayuthi said Taman Putra Perdana was experiencing a spillover effect because it shared a common border with the Subang Jaya Municipal Council which was also fighting a losing battle against this illegal activity despite enforcement staff removing them daily.
“Our aim is to create an awareness on the need to follow proper advertisement guidelines,’’ he said.
He said banners advertising sale of properties topped the list in Taman Putra Perdana as there were several housing developments with many vacant units, followed by advertisements on money-lending services.
“We have noted down the contact details of these banners and the council’s legal department will issue compounds to those that can be traced. Most of these operators work by night, therefore it is difficult to nab the perpetrators,’’ Sayuthi added.
He urged residents to help the council by removing such materials in their neighbourhood