KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia is going to showcase a "Mini Malaysia" at the Expo 2010 Shanghai China through its pavilion and allow visitors to see the uniqueness of the country.
Malaysian Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen told Xinhua here in a recent interview that the Malaysian pavilion features a two-story Minangkabau designed construction, a unique building design found in the state of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia.
The Minangkabau is an ethnic group indigenous to West Sumatra, Indonesia. Settlements of the Minangkabau descendants are found in several other countries like Malaysia and Singapore.
Ng said that the horn-like roof of the Malaysian pavilion would allow visitors to immediately relate it to Malaysia at the first glance of the building with a built-up area of 3,000 square meters.
The Malaysian authorities concerned have hired four painters to "paint" the batik cloth pattern onto the roof of the Malaysian pavilion at the expo, making it an innovative way to introduce the Malaysian cultural heritage to the world.
To match the expo's theme of "Better City, Better Living", Ng said her ministry rejected the initial idea of highlighting adventurous and treasure-hunt activities in the country.
Stressing the necessity to integrate the nature into city life, Ng said that the Malaysian government decided that an area demonstrating how Malaysian cities were nestled among lush and forests.
Ng noted that visitors to the Malaysian pavilion could find a tropical rainforest area decorated with tropical floras, ponds, waterfalls and coupled with special sound effects, such as the singing of birds and tweeting of insects.
As Malaysia has some 1,700 islands and long coastal line, housing a large variety of corals, the Malaysian pavilion will also have artificial beaches and islands to impress foreigners with a vivid Malaysia.
The tallest twin-tower stands in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital city and high-rise buildings are seen in the vicinity, showing the modern progress in the country.
Yet, Ng said, golf courses, forests and beaches could be reached in less than 1.5 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, Ng, also said the country is a heaven for food, adding that food stalls handled by Malaysian chefs would be set up at the Malaysian pavilion to serve Malaysian cuisine of various ethnic groups to visitors.
Other arts and cultural performances, as well as handicrafts production would be presented to show how diverse yet harmonious the Malaysian society is, said Ng, stressing that the Malaysian government is participating in the expo with the One 1Malaysia spirit.
The 1Malaysia is concept initiated by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak last year which is aimed at creating harmony and unity in the country.
Ng said Malaysians have been embracing differences of others all these years, maintaining the stability in the society.
While the ground floor of the Malaysian pavilion serves as the venue to introduce Malaysia to the world, the first floor mainly focuses on the exhibition of Malaysian commercial products, such as palm oil and rubber.
Ng said the Malaysian government had hoped that the exhibition could let foreign business communities understand more about the country's trade and economy.
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