Many expressed disbelief that the logo was approved for Malaysia’s global tourism campaign, wondering if the photo of it shared online was fake or part of a joke.
Others claimed the logo was designed using a simple programme like Microsoft Paint and had put Malaysian graphic designers to shame.
These comments came after the tourism and culture ministry tweeted the image of the logo bearing the tagline “Travel. Enjoy. Respect’” yesterday, leading to it going viral on social media.
Arshad, who uses the Twitter handle @itsmymn, said: “I’m sick and tired of this humiliation. How can you be a freaking minister, when you can’t realise how awful and humiliating this logo is.”
“You know what this says to the world for 2020? ‘Malaysians can’t design.’ I weep for all our great graphic designers,” he said.
Another user with the handle @avenseenafauzi said: “Our official logo for visit Malaysia 2020. Gonna be a joke for another 2 years and beyond.”
Facebook users also joined in the criticism, with Al-Hussaini Mustafa Hadi saying in a posting: “I hope this is a joke. Not every design can just be done in-house or using a freelancer. Even freelance designers might do better than this.
“This kind of work should be done by a reputable agency and the logo project alone should take some time,” he said.
He added that a good logo design may cost a big sum of money since it was meant to be enduring.
“In this case, this is the face of Malaysia in 2020. If this is not a joke, get ready to be a joke and laughing stock of the entire world. Sad,” he said.
Andrew Lee said: “Seriously, this is the logo for Visit Malaysia 2020? Is this some monkey joke or what? Have we gone loco, amateurish or some fellows doing an ape joke on us?”
He quipped that the Petronas Twin Towers, orang utans and turtles, featured in the design, should sue the designer and those who approved it.
“Hello, can respect anak Malaysia a bit ah? If they make it into a stamp, guess we know where to stick it,” he said.