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The government will not issue special permits to individuals offering photography services, or photo touts, in popular tourist areas in Kuala Lumpur due to safety concerns, said Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh
According to Bernama, Yeoh said inspections by authorities found that these locations pose safety risks for such activities.
"The main concern is safety. These locations are simply not safe for taking photos, so we cannot consider issuing licences. It's not just about the welfare of photo touts or tourism.
"At the KLCC junction, for instance, a car could hit someone at any time. It's a safety issue," she said in a press conference today, 6 April.
She said Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has installed more CCTV cameras at the junction to monitor possible tout activity
Yeoh said she recently conducted two site inspections in the KLCC area with Kuala Lumpur mayor Fadlun Mak Ujud, DBKL officers, and security personnel.
"During our site visit, we observed a noticeable drop in photo tout activity. The police are also conducting joint operations with DBKL," she said.
Public announcement systems broadcasting reminders in multiple languages have also been installed, with messages played every 10 minutes advising tourists not to engage the services of photo touts, which have become an issue in the area
Yeoh added that checks on detained photo touts found that some were foreigners using false identities.
"This is not just a matter of operating without a licence. Some are using fake identities, which means they are not citizens. For this reason, issuing licences cannot be considered at this time," she said.
