Tengku Zafrul: MITI In Talks With Creative Agency Over Expo 2025 Pavilion Design Dispute

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The Investment, Trade, and Industry Ministry (MITI) is in talks with a private company that accused it of using design work for the Malaysia Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka without compensation

According to Bernama, Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said in a parliamentary reply that active discussions are ongoing with the creative agency to reach an amicable resolution between both parties.

"This is important to ensure that Malaysia's participation in Expo 2025 Osaka is not affected, and that the momentum for achievements so far can be maintained and all the goals of Malaysia's participation in the expo are achieved," Zafrul said in response to a question from Lim Lip Eng (PH-Kepong) during the Dewan Rakyat sitting yesterday, 31 July.

Lim had asked about the status of the investigation into the allegations and the steps being taken to prevent similar issues from recurring in the future.

In his reply, Zafrul assured that all parties involved in the project — including consultants, contractors, and service providers — were selected through proper government evaluation processes

However, he said MITI would continue to review its internal guidelines and make changes if needed, such as in selecting partners, especially for high-impact projects that represent Malaysia on the global stage.

"MITI will remain committed to ensuring that the implementation of programmes and projects involving national interests is carried out transparently, with accountability and integrity," he said.

While MITI did not identify the agency involved, the issue came to public attention when the agency raised concerns on social media

In an Instagram post on 25 April, Current Media Group founder Fey Ilyas alleged that his team's proposal — including the concept, theme, narrative, and architectural direction — was adopted in the final design of the Malaysia Pavilion without acknowledgement or compensation.

"As a small company, even receiving proper acknowledgement for a project of this scale would have helped us build our reputation and open doors to new opportunities. Instead, our work was taken — used without credit or compensation," he wrote in the post that went viral.

According to the New Straits Times, MITI responded on 26 April, stating that it would launch an internal inquiry.

However, the agency later claimed there was no follow-up from the ministry, resorting to legal action and filing a letter of demand on 17 July.