Nation Building

Forum for ASEAN Co-operation in Design and Multimedia Creativity

Addressed by Tan Sri Lim at the 1st Forum for ASEAN Co-operation in Design and Multimedia Creativity Organised by Malaysia Design Technology Centre
1 November 2001

Welcome to 111 - November 1.

I have waited like 50 years for something like this to happen. I mean this is the very first ASEAN forum on creativity!

It′s about time that people in business paid real attention to design and creativity, and to creative people!

So let this day be remembered as the day we gather to plan to build the tallest dreams in the world.

Now this may sound like a bit of a terror to some people in Hollywood, who have long believed that the world′s best creative people only lived in Hollywood.

But we know that is not true. We know there are outstanding creative talents in Vietnam, in Cambodia, in Laos and Thailand, in Malaysia and Indonesia, in Singapore and the Philippines, in Brunei and in Myanmar. I know we have quite a few of them right here in this room.

To our ASEAN neighbours who have come to join us this morning, may I extend to you my very warm welcome, and I thank you for being here.

I also want to extend a special welcome to the Ambassadors, and all our foreign friends who have taken time off to be with us.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to what I hope will be the start of an ASEAN Creative Partnership — a smart partnership that will collectively pull together the creative resources, the skills and the tools needed to build and strengthen the region′s creative industries.

In the same way that European businesses have strengthened with the European Union framework, ASEAN businesses could benefit greatly from an ASEAN partnership platform

I believe through working in collaboration, we will get to create content that will help in leveling the media playing field; that will help in bridging the digital divide between ASEAN countries, and between ASEAN and other countries. To initiate efforts that will showcase the creative talents of our people, the people of ASEAN; and that will be effective in presenting our history, our culture and our way of life properly and appropriately, and in a manner that will not distort the true meaning of Asian values.

For a minute now, let′s turn to 911. 911 is the number Americans dial to get emergency services. Now it′s also a number that we will never forget because it refers to the month and the date when everything for the Americans and the rest of the world went wrong.

The storm that was created when those planes smashed into those tall buildings in New York is still being felt everywhere. When those buildings collapsed, businesses and economies around the world collapsed along with them.

When 911 struck, economies in ASEAN were just recovering from the shocks and destruction of the 1997-98 economic crisis. Some of the countries in the region have now slipped back into recession.

As a result of 911, everywhere exports fell. Stock markets crashed. Factories closed. Business confidence evaporated.

And as the bombs continue to fall, uncertainties continue to rise.

Against this gloomy backdrop, we meet to help find new ways and to look for more creative means to sustain economic development and wealth creation; to find new and better solutions to overcome old nagging problems; and new opportunities to make up for avenues that are lost.

Much has been said about creativity – about the ability to design and create original products, media content, innovative branding and marketing – as the next engine of growth. No one will disagree with that.

That is exactly the reason why the Malaysia Design Technology Centre has been created. It was first mooted by our Prime Minister in 1996. It is part of his vision that Malaysia should play a catalytic role in the development of creative industries in the region. He wanted so much for Asian content that we all can be proud of to be presented to the world.

One of MDTC′s main goals is to provide the region with a creativity enabling centre, one that is designed and equipped to lend support to regional efforts in research and innovation, in capacity building and capacity sharing.

To realise this goal, I would like to propose the setting up of an ASEAN Design and Digital Media Training Centre and for it to be located at MDTC. I believe it will contribute well to ASEAN′s drive to develop ICT and multimedia competencies, and in integrating businesses within ASEAN and in helping to bridge the digital divide that exists throughout the region.

In the local environment, I see MDTC as a suitable platform for designers and content creators to engage in international and governmental projects. MDTC can also provide a platform to develop policies and legislation designed to solve industry problems, create more business opportunities and protect the interest of designers and content creators.

As we all know, advanced countries manufacture their products mostly in Asia these days, but continue to sell them at premium pricing throughout the world, including Asia, where they are made.

Clearly, it is time for us to invest in originating, in designing and branding of our own.

It is time to add value to whatever we produce by enhancing their design integrity, and by marketing them creatively.

It is time to invest more of our energy and resources in the development of intellectual property. This is what Japan has done very successfully. So has Taiwan. And so has Singapore.

On international television, disturbing and often humiliating images of our people are presented as prime-time viewing content all over the world, especially in the developed countries. Such content distorts the viewers′ perception of who we are and what we stand for. And sadly, such images are often beamed right back into our living rooms for our children to see.

But who could blame these TV stations for doing what they do if we fail to produce our own content, be it information or entertainment, that the world would want to watch.

It is time to put in the effort, and the resources; it′s time to pull together all the talents we can gather, to create the content that will in turn, create the goodwill, respect, and admiration for what we do, for the values we promote, the things we produce and the services we provide.

We don′t have a choice, anyway. This time, time is not on our side

911 is a wake-up call for us as well. It signals the opportunity for us to explore new avenues, build new partnerships, try out new ideas, set new directions. Because things have changed so dramatically and now changes will be even more rapid.

We come from an ancient line of people. We have the resilience. We have the creativity. And most of all we have the numbers to succeed in what we do.

ASEAN has 10 countries which between them has a population of more than 500 million. Asia has 48 countries with a population of 4 billion. This is the market base to look at. This is a market we, as Asians, understand because these are countries rich in cultures and tradition that are not alien to us.

We should tap this richness and we can do it best if we do it together.

I think it is time to show the rest of the world, especially those living in Hollywood and Santa Monica that very creative people also live in South East Asia. Many are already living in Kuala Lumpur.

On that note, I would like to thank you for your kind attention, may I now introduce you to our favourite guest speaker, Yang Berhormat Datuk Amar Leo Moggie, our Minister of Energy, Communications and Multimedia and invite him to deliver his address.