KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry will strengthen Malaysia’s national design ecosystem through three key priorities.
Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz identified these priorities as encouraging collaboration among designers, manufacturers and academia.
He also emphasised strengthening design standards and certification frameworks while integrating design thinking into entrepreneurship.
“Our ambition is clear, to make design a national competitive advantage, and to grow the creative economy into a key pillar of Malaysia’s industrial transformation,“ he stated during the Malaysia Good Design Award and Certified Industrial Designer Award 2025 ceremony.
Malaysia’s digital creative sector generated RM5.3 billion in revenue with exports nearing RM800 million last year.
The sector created more than 10,000 high-skilled jobs in 2023 according to the minister.
Tengku Zafrul revealed the broader creative economy contributed RM29.4 billion or about 1.9% of Malaysia’s GDP.
“As these numbers grow, the message is clear - design is not a luxury, it is a growth driver for Malaysia’s economy,“ he added.
Design will play a pivotal role in driving productivity and supporting environmental, social and governance initiatives.
It will also help small and medium enterprises and large corporations compete globally under national development plans.
The minister introduced the Kuala Lumpur Design Summit 2026 as a defining milestone for design innovation.
He described the summit as reflecting the Malaysia Design Council’s vision to elevate Malaysia as a regional design hub. – Bernama
