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harmaceutical company PT Bintang Toedjoe removed a billboard installed next to the Cempaka Putih overpass in Pulomas, East Jakarta, after acting governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama ordered the action because it obstructed motorists'€™ line of sight.

The Cempaka Putih overpass connects East Jakarta to Central Jakarta and is often packed with passing motorists.

The billboard was put up by the company to inform residents and motorists about Bejo Herbal Garden, its herbal garden, which was built as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) program.

According to Pulogadung district leader Teguh Hendarwan, Ahok asked him to inform Bintang Toedjoe representatives of the matter.

'€œI passed on the order last Friday and they removed the billboard the day after,'€ Teguh said on Monday.

He added that the company had been cooperative and removed the billboard without resistance.

Earlier this year, the city administration imposed a new tax system that requires billboard agencies to pay tax based on the value of contracts with advertisers, replacing the old system under which the tax rate on a billboard varied depending on its location.

Bintang Toedjoe has established four herbal gardens: Two in Pulomas, one in front of its factory in Pulogadung industrial estate in East Jakarta and the another on Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan in East Jakarta.

The gardens include coffee, lanseh (or locally known as duku) and jabuticaba (Brazilian grapes), among others.

According to Bintang Toedjoe president director Simon Jonatan, the company plans to develop herbal gardens throughout the city to teach local residents of the benefits of herbal plants.

Ahok had previously praised Bintang Toedjoe'€™s efforts and urged all private companies in the city to follow its lead.

'€œPrivate companies should be active in developing and maintaining gardens,'€ Ahok said as quoted by tribunnews.com during the inauguration of the company'€™s latest herbal garden in Pulogadung on May 25.

He reiterated that the gardens should have plants that would be useful for residents.

Bintang Toedjoe specializes in herbal medicines. It was established in 1946 and is best known for its headache medicine, Puyer No. 16.

The company was acquired by pharmaceutical giant PT Kalbe Farma in 1985 and is now better known for its tag line '€œbejo'€, a Javanese term for a lucky person.

Some of Bintang Toedjoe'€™s well-known products include common cold herbal medicine Bintang Toedjoe Masuk Angin, Bintang Toedjoe Turun Panas and energy drink Extra Joss. (dwa)