KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 9 – An advertisement placed by the Brickfields District Police on a billboard in Desa Sri Hartamas to celebrate Malaysia’s National Day has sparked controversy due to a glaring error: the iconic Petronas Twin Towers were depicted as having three towers instead of two. Both the Brickfields Police and the advertising company have since apologized for the mistake, which was attributed to an error in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) during the design process.
The billboard, intended to mark the National Day celebrations, was meant to showcase the Petronas Twin Towers, a symbol of Kuala Lumpur. However, the error led to public confusion and criticism, as the image depicted three towers connected by bridges, rather than the well-known two.
A social media user, Adib Mazlee, expressed his disappointment on his Facebook account, emphasizing that such an error should not have occurred during such an important month. He stated, “National Day is a time to showcase our patriotic spirit, and more effort should have been put into this, given that it commemorates our nation’s independence.”
He added, “If the billboard was created using AI and it mistakenly showed three towers, couldn’t they have just found an original image online? There are plenty of free, high-quality images available on Shutterstock, Freepik, and even Pexels.”
In response to the widespread criticism, the Brickfields Police issued a directive to the advertising company to remove the billboard immediately. They also addressed the issue on their official social media pages, acknowledging the mistake.
“The National Day greeting that has been widely circulated on social media was displayed on a digital billboard in Desa Sri Hartamas. We have advised the advertising company to take down the poster immediately,” the Brickfields Police stated.
WOW MEDIA, the advertising company responsible for the billboard, also issued a public apology on its official social media page. The company confirmed that the digital billboard had been removed as soon as the error was noticed, and they promised to review their internal processes to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“We would like to address the issue concerning the National Day greeting from Brickfields Police displayed on the billboard in Desa Sri Hartamas. We have confirmed the error on the screen and have removed the ad immediately. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused,” WOW MEDIA stated.
The incident has drawn widespread criticism from netizens, who expressed their dissatisfaction and disappointment over the oversight in the comments section of the post.
