For my foreword for Issue 37.4, I wish to publish the speech I delivered at PAM Centre on 28 November 2025 at the launch of ArchitectureMalaysia.my – our new online portal:
We are here to celebrate something that holds a very special place in the hearts of Malaysian Architects. whether you remember it fondly as Majalah Akitek (MA), or as it has been known in the recent past, Architecture Malaysia (AM).
AM isn’t just a magazine. It is an important journal documenting the activities, works, and achievements of our profession. It is the public face of our institute. It’s what we hand to clients, what we send to allies in the building industry, and what sits on the shelves of major bookstores across the country.
My journey with AM started way back in 2003. At the time, Lee Chor Wah was the Editor-in-Chief, and I was a third-year student writing features and doing reportage for events. Now, for the younger generation in the audience, this was a different era. When it came time to collect our writer’s honorarium, there was no instant online transfer. We actually had to physically go to Rumah Tangsi, knock on the door, and personally collect a few hundred ringgits from Fay Cheah!
Fast forward to four years ago, Dexter Koh approached me to get involved in the Media and Publications committee to eventually succeed him at the helm of AM. It has been 3 years and 12 issues later, and I’m still here, and still standing! Though I admit I am looking to pass the baton to the next enthusiastic younger architect amongst us.
Architecture Malaysia Online. Why Digital?
Some have asked me why we are creating a portal for Architecture Malaysia? We all love the smell of ink on paper; we love to hold the weight of a physical journal. But the reach of print has physical limits. Today, consumption of content happens at a totally different speed. Images, critiques, and videos travel instantly on WhatsApp, Instagram, and LinkedIn multiple times a day. I realised there was a gap – we need a way to share the curated content of our magazine and celebrate our local architects at the speed of the internet.
So, tonight, we are closing that gap by launching our online portal: architecturemalaysia.my.
Our vision is ambitious. We want AM Online to be a regional portal akin to Dezeen or ArchDaily. We are here to bring the work of Malaysian architects to a global audience.
With the launch of this portal, we also launch dedicated social media accounts for AM. And the timing is perfect. If you’ve been watching the social feeds since the recent ASEAN summit, you’ll notice an increasing regional interest in Malaysia, with foreign content creators sharing videos of our very own PAM building and other Malaysian architectural landmarks.
This is evidence that we need to actively promote ourselves better – we need to stop being shy about our own projects and keep creating content of our work, and also share the work of our peers in our social media feeds.
A platform for advocacy
This portal also gives us a platform to advocate for the things that matter. I’ve written in the last issue of the AM about the need for our competitions to have a public exhibition component. When we hold design competitions for public infrastructure, such as markets, we must follow through with town hall forums and exhibitions. We need to engage the very people who will eventually use and bring life to the places we design.
Towards this goal, we at AM are planning to document more of this public discourse. We plan to host our own roundtable sessions and open these sessions up to our architects and the general public, and record these conversations for posterity.
Now, I want to be clear. This does not mean the end of print. We will continue printing the magazine every quarter, just as we have been doing but we plan to fill the portal with content and news much more frequently, keeping the conversation alive in between the printed editions.
Our hope is also to continue to encourage more creators and writers to be part of the AM family and use this as a platform to expand the discourse on architecture and design nationally.
This continued success is built on the shoulders of giants. I must give thanks to those who have helmed AM before me— some of whom are in the audience today – Lee Chor Wah, Saifuddin Ahmad, Ang Chee Cheong, Ar. Dexter Koh and many others who kept the flame alive.
And to our advertisers and subscribers —thank you for funding this vision. At a time when printed magazines are disappearing from newsstands and bookstores globally, Architecture Malaysia has continued to thrive because of your support.
I conclude my remarks for tonight and bid you welcome to the future of Architecture Malaysia!
Ar. David Teoh
Editor-in-Chief, Architecture Malaysia
