PETALING JAYA: The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture has denied that an exhibition of paintings featuring famous Japanese animated character Doraemon will be used to promote and become part of the attraction for Visit Malaysia Year 2020.
Its Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi said the statement made by the National Art Gallery chairman Datuk Rashidi Hasbullah was merely his personal view and is not agreed upon by the Ministry to promote the campaign.
“I never approved any promotional activities involving Japanese cartoon characters and they are totally excluded from our promotion. On the contrary it is the personal statement of the National Art Gallery chairman when attending the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) function last March.”
“It was his suggestion and if it was presented to me, I would not approve,“ he said in a statement today.
He was responding to a news report that has gone viral, quoting Rashidi as saying that an art exhibition featuring Doraemon can help to promote Malaysia to the world and may have it held during Visit Malaysia Year 2020.
Mohamaddin added that if he really wanted to pick a popular cartoon character, he will pick one made in Malaysia instead of from other countries.
