The idea came to Nur Zakirah Zahran following her interest in the game eight years ago, initially to test her mental prowess.

But she had to put it off when she started her studies in programme engineering at Universiti Multimedia Malaysia (MMU).

“A lot of cubes are needed to form a picture or painting, which involves a substantial sum,” she told Bernama.

To realise her desire, Nur Zakirah, who is now a network technician at an international firm, said she contacted fellow enthusiast Muhamad Hariz Azizan through Facebook after seeing him on television, to form a collaboration.

Incidentally, Hariz, 21, holds the record as Malaysia’s fastest Rubik’s cube puzzle solver at 6.5 seconds.

Through their collaboration and respective talents, the duo created their desired innovation without diverting from the original concept of Rubik’s cube.

“Nur Zakirah created a mosaic sketch using a special software, while I used my speed to turn the cube to match the patterns before arranging them.

“Initially, we took a day to complete one project, but now it only takes half a day,” said Hariz, who will be representing Malaysia in the World Rubik’s Cube Championship 2017 in France, from July 13 to 16.

Recently, Nur Zakirah and Hariz became the focus of attention when they arranged 1,000 cubes to create a portrait of popular local comedian group Sepahtu.

They also received a request from MMU to produce a portrait of Higher Education Minister Idris Jusoh, weighing 100kg, to present to him during a programme at the university.

Meanwhile, they are planning to produce a gigantic portrait, measuring more than six metres, of Malaysia’s six prime ministers, in conjunction with the country’s 60th Independence Day.

They need about 5,000 cubes involving RM40,000 to RM50,000 and are looking for sponsors for the project.

They hope to accomplish the project and earn a place in The Malaysia Book of Records as being the largest Rubik’s Cube mosaic.