KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 — A new logo and tagline to promote tourism in Kuala Lumpur has drawn online criticism from Malaysians, who poked fun at the design and the words used to describe their beloved capital city.

The logo, a simple design featuring “Kuala Lumpur” written in grey lettering with a drop shadow, describes the city as “exciting, surprising and enticing”, and also brands it as a “city of contrasts and diversity”.

According to reports, it was unveiled on Monday by mayor Datuk Seri Mhd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz.

Internet users were quick to mock the city’s new tourism promotion initiative.

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Comments in a TimeOut article seeking readers’ feedback on the logo were overwhelmingly negative, with one commenter, Izwar Z, describing the logo as “shameful”.

“Looks like they designed it with PowerPoint,” wrote Aliff A, while another, Z K, described it as “embarrassing.”

The logo, a simple design featuring 'Kuala Lumpur' written in grey lettering with a drop shadow, describes the city as 'exciting, surprising and enticing', and also brands it as a 'city of contrasts and diversity'.
The logo, a simple design featuring 'Kuala Lumpur' written in grey lettering with a drop shadow, describes the city as 'exciting, surprising and enticing', and also brands it as a 'city of contrasts and diversity'.

“My mediocre sense of art never felt this insulted. We can’t do this to our city. Please don’t,” wrote Wahida Y.

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Reaction on social networking sites such as Twitter was equally as negative, with one user, Faizal Hamssin, comparing the logo to those of Amsterdam’s, Jakarta, and Dubai.

“All are vibrant global cities. Now, can you see the difference?” he wrote.

 

 

Another Twitter user, Iced Nyior, recreated a similar logo with WordArt and posted it online, claiming it only took her five minutes to complete it.

“DBKL, I hope you didn’t pay lots for your new #kualalumpur branding as I did this in PPT with WordArt in 5 minutes,” the user wrote.

 

 

The Star in its article this week quoted Amin as saying that Kuala Lumpur needed its own branding in the same way Paris is associated with romance and Rio de Janeiro is associated with a carnival atmosphere.

“We need to create a brand for Kuala Lumpur, something that differentiates us from other cities,” he was quoted saying.

The logo signs will be installed in three locations in Kuala Lumpur — at Dataran Merdeka, Bulatan Semantan and Jalan Sungai Besi.

Malay Mail Online is currently trying to contact the KL City Hall for a response.