SEPANG: The new Visit Malaysia Year 2020 (VMY 2020) logo was unveiled today by Prime Minster Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
It replaces the previous controversial emblem that was criticised as amateurish. The new logo features various icons of the country, including the hornbill, a hibiscus, a wild fern, and it bears the colours of the Jalur Gemilang.
It is inspired by a batik design and represents the diversity of Malaysia’s culture, heritage, flora and fauna, with the tagline “Visit Truly Asia Malaysia”.
The logo, designed by 23-year-old Alfred Phua Hong Fook, a graphic designer, was picked among 586 submissions during a competition held by the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry in March.
The competition was conducted after pressure from various quarters for the new administration to redo the original logo that was launched by the previous tourism minister, Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz.
The last logo, that was unveiled in January last year, came under fire for not being up to standard.
The design depicted a postage stamp, featuring the Petronas Twin Towers, an Orang Utan hugging a proboscis monkey and a turtle on a beach, all donning sunglasses, while bearing the tag line “Travel. Enjoy. Respect”.
Officiating at the unveiling ceremony today, Mahathir said the new logo is a significant move to usher the much-awaited VMY 2020
“The ministry, when inviting Malaysians to participate in the logo creation, intended it as a reminder that this is a national campaign requiring the participation and support of everyone.
“Malaysians have to realise that the success of this campaign will benefit everyone as spill-over from the tourist industry will spread to all walks, and businesses and industries,“ he said at the KL International Airport today.
Later at a press conference, Mahathir said the country will do everything possible to make Malaysia a popular destination for tourists from China, noting that the republic had the highest number of arrivals last year.
“We will of course focus on Chinese tourists because they are the largest number of arrivals to Malaysia. Last year, we had 2.94 million arrivals. We hope to achieve more than three million this year.”
Malaysia aims to bring in 30 million international tourist arrivals and RM100 billion in tourist revenue throughout the VMY 2020 campaign.
