KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 — The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has released a video explaining the concept over its new tourism logo of the national capital, after receiving brickbats online.
The 63-second clip uploaded on YouTube yesterday features dramatic music and special effects depicting grey metal bricks slowly falling apart to reveal the controversial new logo, complete with the descriptor below.
In the description box below the video, DBKL said the specific typeface was chosen for its similarity to Arabic script, in order to communicate the city’s “Islamic roots”.
“This is what makes KL distinctive and on the basis that the city’s identity was built on its history, people, and traditions in the arts and culture,” according to description box under the account ‘visitklofficial’.
“The typeface choice for the positioning is simply to link the city back to her Islamic heritage. The typeface is has [sic] an Islamic scripture character with a modern twist.”
The logo drew backlash shortly after it was unveiled last month, with Internet users mocking the rudimentary design.
Ridicule worsened when DBKL’s tourism bureau director disclosed that the logo and master brand concept cost RM15,000.
KL mayor Datuk Seri Mhd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz later emphasised that the RM15,000 was not for the logo alone.
