Although advertisers are required to portray Malaysia's multiracial face and culture in their work, many of them have failed to abide by the guideline, Information Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim said last night.

He said the requirement had been enforced a long time ago, when he was the information minister from 1984 to 1986.

"The crux of the matter is that there is too little of the Asean and Malaysian face on billboards in the country.

"As such, we will have to remind the advertisers gain of the requirement," he said in an interview over TV3.

Rais said the condition was brought up again when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was the prime minister.

"It seems that they have forgotten ... so, if they forget, we have to remind them again," he added.

As such, Rais said, he would hold a meeting with the Malaysian Advertisers Association to remind them to be fair and portray the Asean and Malaysian face.

On the use of language in advertising, he said the use of Bahasa Melayu fully was not practical.

"We must be fair on the choice of the language of communication, but there must be more usage of Bahasa Melayu," he added.

On television commercials over cable television and free-to-air television, he said commercials over paid networks should be at a minimum level as they were already getting revenue from the subscription.

"So, it would better for a compromise to be reached between policy makers and (implementers of) conditions, such as the MCMC, on how we can determine fairness on television rights.

"Eventually, free-to-air television stations will lose the ads ratio, and certain benefits," he added.

- Bernama