Message from the President

..."We continuously strive to establish high standards for the profession and practice"...

This year is an importantly significant time for IPDM, firstly with the merger for MSID and IPDM. This is indeed crucial to the unifying of efforts as one unit and ensuring that legislation takes place for the industry to be regulated. We continuously strive to establish high standards for the profession and practice, especially with globalization. We intend to help the industry, taking into view the increasing demands as well as the growing trends in the industry, both at home and abroad.

We had applied to the Government and it has been now legislated for the control and regulation of the profession to expand the Architects’ Act 1967 to also include the Interior Designers. It is imperative that the highest standard of professionalism and integrity to the practice of Interior Design be maintained at all times, especially in the face of global challenges, so that we can further succeed in the international arena.

This month also hosts a historic milestone moment for the interior design industry whereby for the first time, IPDM and MSID is jointly organizing Interiors Malaysia 2007, Malaysia’s Interior Lifestyle Showcase to be held from June 21 – 23, 2007 at the MATRADE Exhibition & Convention Center.

The consolidating of the efforts is the first step of many to come with the aim to steer the interior design industry to the forefront of economic development and to address the business of interiors as an industry. The current economic climate reflects a positive outlook in the building and construction segment, where our sector is expected to grow by leaps and bounds, showing that interiors is a serious industry.

With the internationalization of our industry, we have creatively designed the trade showcase to eventually take the industry to the global platform, making this event a meeting hub for players in the industry, both locally and from the region, to gather, exchange ideas, from smart partnerships, conduct business dealings and keeps abreast of industry developments.

We are pleased to say that interiors Malaysia 2007 is enclosed by the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI) and the Asia-Pacific Space Designers Association (APSDA). Being in a country that is multi-diversity, Interiors Malaysia has aptly taken on the theme “Multi-culture, Multi-expressions”. This theme reflects the vision to showcase the rich ideas and regional preferences of this trend setting industry and to bring forth our Malaysian designers to carve a niche design brand as iconic as the famed designs of Bali and Thailand.

On the business of interiors, we are organizing a special seminar entitled “Accelerating the Trendsetting industry in the Forefront of Economic Development”. Prominent speakers from the region and the interior design industry community will be featured at this seminar to address the business of interiors, who will share their business experiences. Other activities hosted at the trade event include seminars and workshops, daily business cocktails and one-on-one business matching sessions, to name a few.

At the recent Presidents’ Night hosted at Skybar in Kuala Lumpur, we launched our International Club for members to further expand their global network, providing avenues for members to explore services the world over. Other activities in the pipeline include the upcoming World ID Day on 6 June 2007 where we will be working with the International Federation of Interior Architects and Interior Designers. We look forward to your active participation in all our events for the year as all efforts are focused on taking the industry to a whole new level with greater success for the business of interiors.

Ar Vincent Lee
President IPDM