KUCHING, October 7 2025: Everywhere you go, you can’t help but notice illegal advertisements put up by moneylenders especially in Tabuan Jaya, Tabuan Desa, Tabuan Dusun and Tabuan Tranquility.
These advertisements, complete with contact numbers, are nailed to the tree trunks, glued to electrical posts and whatever things that the moneylenders can find along the roadsides and within the housing estates.
These advertisements are not meant for beautification or decoration, but to entice poor people or people with money problems to borrow money from the moneylenders or commonly known as Ah Longs at a very high and unreasonable interest rates.
Once this class of people has borrowed money, they will have a harrowing experience of paying the loans which seems to be unending.
And if they cannot settle the loans, nightmares await them.
The mushrooming of illegal advertisements have raised the ire of Michael Kong, the special assistant of DAP chairman and Stamp MP Chong Chieng Jen.
“In late August, I raised the issue of illegal moneylender advertisements being plastered all over Kuching.
“Almost immediately, Kuching South City Council (MBKS) rushed to issue rebuttals, insisting that their enforcement teams have been actively removing such advertisements daily,” he said in a statement he issued after “turun padang”.
‘But the reality on the ground tells a very different story. At Lorong Stutong 11B3, for example, these illegal advertisements have been there since as early as October 2024.
“Fast forward to today, October 2025, and my recent visit confirms that the exact same advertisements remain untouched,” he moaned.
He questioned how efficient MBKS is, as Mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng so proudly claims to be.
“If something as basic as removing illegal advertisements on road signage cannot be handled promptly, what message is MBKS sending to the public?
“Is that enforcement merely lip service?” he asked.
Kong said it is also not enough for MBKS to simply pull down these illegal advertisements., adding that its enforcement officers must also lodge police reports so that these cases are officially recorded. With such reports in place, he said the police and relevant agencies such as Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) can take further action to trace and act against the owners of the contact numbers being advertised.
“Anything less is merely a cosmetic action that does not address the root of the problem,” Kong alleged.
He urged MBKS to stop giving excuses and start acting with urgency, saying that these advertisements are not just an eyesore but are a public nuisance that emboldens illegal moneylenders to continue preying on the local communities.
He said by allowing them to remain for a year, MBKS is sending the wrong signal that such illegal activities are condoned.
“The people of Kuching deserve a council that not only reacts defensively when called out but also works proactively to safeguard public interest.
“ As such, I strongly urge MBKS to immediately issue clear directives to its enforcement teams and contractors to remove these illegal advertisements without delay and at the same time, lodge police reports so real enforcement action can be taken,” he suggested.
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