454 illegal billboards on Negri Sembilan highway

SEREMBAN: A total of 454 illegal billboards have been set up along the North-South Expressway running through Negri Sembilan.

State Housing, Local Government and New Village Committee chairman Teo Kok Seong said the billboards were identified through operations carried out by the local authority.

Teo said two new structures had also been set up by certain parties, and the local authority has posted a notice to bring down the billboards.

“Each billboard must get the approval from the local authority, as it is under the local government supervision.

“However, many billboard owners did not comply with the rules and this can affect the security aspect of the public,” he told reporters at Wisma Negeri here yesterday.

Commenting further, Teo said the installation of the illegal billboard has also resulted in losses in terms of state’s revenue collection as the owners failed to pay taxes to the state government.

“We do not want the incident where a giant billboard on the edge of the North-South Expressway near Kampung Labu which collapsed on a resident’s house in 2017 to repeat itself,” he said.

Hence, he expressed hope that the owners of the billboards, including the landowners who rent their land to the billboard operators, to cooperate in the ‘whitening’ programme implemented by the state government.

The programme that was supposed to end on April 15 has been extended until end of June.

Teo said the flexibility was given following lack of feedbacks received from the parties involved in the setting up of the billboards, besides giving them the chance to celebrate Aidilfitri.

“Reminders and notices have been issued to illegal billboard owners to submit an application for the process from early March until April 15.

“However, only a handful of owners have responded. For instance, from 429 unlicensed billboard owners in the area of Nilai Municipal Council (MPN) only 60 have responded to the local authority,” he said.