COMMENT | After eight months of endless chatter, lawyerly posturing, and even a cameo in Parliament, Malaysia’s Expo 2025 pavilion saga has been “settled” - though only in the kind of paperwork haze where problems go to chill but never really die.

On April 26, a seemingly innocuous social media post by Fey Ilyas of Current Media Group (CMB) alleged that the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry had appropriated his firm’s work without credit or compensation.

The post carried a blunt headline: “The Malaysia Pavilion for Expo 2025 Osaka is built on stolen creative work.” Subheading: “Our proposal was appropriated by MITI without acknowledgement or compensation.”

CMB claimed it had spent two years developing the concept, theme, narrative, and architectural direction - only to see its work “taken” by the ministry.

“We chose to speak up...