PUTRAJAYA, July 20 — The Malaysia Design Council (MRM) has been urged to play a more aggressive role through the Creating Own Design as Own Brand programme and assist the local industry by providing design advice and consultancy.
Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Lim Ban Hong said currently, many industry players were still adopting the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) approach even though the government had conducted various campaigns to encourage the transformation to Original Brand Manufacturer (OBM).
In his speech at the 2021 Malaysia Good Design Award (MGDA) 2021 and Certified Industrial Designer (CIDe) here recently, he said design was an important aspect that must be given emphasis in creating a product, and an important factor in strengthening the brand and to improve a company’s competitiveness.
“With design guidance or design elements that MRM strives for, more industries, especially among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) understand the importance of design and focus on design elements in making their products.
“Going down to the field and more outreach programmes must be conducted nationwide to create awareness on the importance of quality design towards improving business performance. This in turn will be able to further boost the companies’ export performance,” he said.
Established under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in 1993, MRM among others, acts as a think tank and programme advisor to further advance design industry’s expertise, capabilities and standards in the country.
MGDA meanwhile, is the highest design recognition from the Malaysian government through MRM which endorses products that bear quality in design manufacturing.
According to Lim, the number of products applying for MGDA recognition had increased from 107 products in 2015 to 326 in 2018.
“In 2020 and 2021, a total of 252 products from various categories were received for evaluation and of the total, 26 products from 19 companies were found to meet the specifications and eligible to receive MGDA 2021,” he said.
At the event, for the first time, the CIDe, the highest recognition given to local industrial designers, was awarded to 16 individuals, all of whom will carry the CIDe title with their name.
Meanwhile, MRM director Sulaiman Arshad said 13 categories were listed in MGDA 2021 including living room and bedroom design, accessories, jewelry items and crafts.
“The recognition through the award shows that the country’s design industry is always growing rapidly and has expertise in finished goods production, and they need to take the opportunity to continue working with MRM,” he said.
