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

Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said the ministry had received many complaints over the sending of advertisements via SMS, some 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), here.

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

Rais also said 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.

He 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 RM12bil compared to RM11bil in 2011.

He said the biggest growth was seen in the advertising industry, which recorded a profit of RM10bil, and there was an increase in the export of films consisting of drama, documentary and animation, with RM1.85mil spent on the 27 companies involved in the industry.

-- BERNAMA

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