The Information, Communications and Culture Ministry is to look into the system of sending advertisements via SMS to mobile phones to prevent consumers from being harassed by unsolicited messages.

Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim said today the ministry had received many complaints from the people over the sending of advertisements via SMS, some of them containing elements of a sexual nature.

“SMS sent to telephone users should not contain messages seeking to market anything," he told reporters after chairing a meeting of the Communications, Content and Infrastructure sector of the National Key Economic Area (NKEA-CCI), Rais advised those involved in the advertising industry to portray the face
of Malaysia and Asia on billboards to balance with the face of Europe.

"We ask that the industry, besides focusing on advertising values, also provide the cultural and aesthetic values on the billboards, and it will be justified to have more of the face of Malaysia," he said.

On the NKEA CCI meeting, Rais said exports in the creative industry for 2012 recorded an increase over the previous year, with a revenue of RM12 billion compared to RM11 billion in 2011.

He said the biggest growth was seen in the advertising industry, which recorded a profit of RM10 billion, and there was an increase in the export of films consisting of drama, documentary and animation, with RM1.85 million spent on the 27 companies involved in the industry here.

Rais said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) would go through the contents of the complaints and negotiate with the telecommunications companies to come up with a solution.

At the same media conference, he also said that the ministry would review the cost of downloading songs online to ensure that the copyright owners and singers garnered a reasonable profit from the transactions.