However, true to his sarcastic wit, the former prime minister said the peculiarity of the design might draw more tourists to the country.
Mahathir, who is Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman and its prime ministerial candidate, posted a video today showing him viewing an image of the logo adopted by the tourism and culture ministry.
He began his commentary with his classic sarcasm: “It’s pretty … the logo for Visit Malaysia 2020. But the picture inside looks like a ‘kera’ (monkey) or is that a human?
“Is this what will get people to visit Malaysia? I think people will find it odd. Maybe this oddity will attract them. I don’t know. I think there are a lot more designs which look nicer and are more attractive,” he said as he scrolled his tablet.
On Sunday, Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Aziz defended the design and said it would continue to be used to promote Malaysia to the world despite the flak.
He insisted the logo, which was launched in Chiang Mai, Thailand, would not be changed as it had received positive feedback from tourists during the launch.
Social media users had panned the design, which carries the tagline “Travel. Enjoy. Respect”, with many saying it looked amateurish.
Many expressed disbelief that the logo was approved for Malaysia’s global tourism campaign, wondering if the photo 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.
Nazri denied claims by some that the ministry had paid an external graphic designer hundreds of thousands of ringgit to come up with the logo.
“We did not use external firms and we did not spend anything. Everything was done internally, using our own staff.
“I have faith in my own staff rather than spending hundreds of thousands to pay someone from outside.
“It is free because the graphic designer was a member of our staff,” he added.