SubscribeThey contacted Selangor MCA Youth chief Dr Kow Cheong Wei upon receiving letters from the MPSJ, instructing them to demolish their signboards within 30 days from July 20.
The decision to standardise the signboard size at 6m by 0.9m or 6m by 1.2m came from the MPSJ licensing department last month.
Councillor Roslan Shahir Mohd Shahir told reporters that the MPSJ would give the operators a grace period of 30 days to alter their signboards. “If they fail to do so, they will be fined RM1,000,” he said.
Foot reflexology outlet supervisor Chan John Feh is one of the operators who oppose the ruling.
“Our signboard has to be prominent and noticable in order to attract the public’s attention. How do we do so if every signboard is the same?
“We renewed the signboard licence half a year ago and now we have to spend a huge sum of money to make new signboards,” the 31-year-old said.
Kow, who promoted the extra large signboards in 2005, said the council had permitted the use of large signboards since 2006.
“These creative signboards adorn a city. Japan and Hong Kong are the best examples — they even put up giant LCD displays. Without these signboards, a city is dull and not vibrant,” he said, demanding to know the reason behind this decision.
He also urged shop owners, who had received the letter, to contact his assistant Kenn at 012-388 2907 for further action.
Roslan, when contacted, said the decision to standardise the signboard sizes was based on the existing regulation.
“When we came in, the permissible measurements are already there. What we are doing now is to implement it.
“This is needed for security reasons. The signboards are not supposed to block the windows,” he said.
Chan disagreed, saying that there is an emergency staircase at the back of his shop.
“Instead of jumping off the window, we will use the staircase,” he said.
Dr Kow said the council should leave it to the Fire Services Department to determine whether the extra large signboards were allowable.
“The councillors should consider the decision from the business perspective,” he said.
He suggested that a meeting be held between the MPSJ and the business operators to listen to the latter’s points of view.
