KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 — Les’ Copaque Production Sdn Bhd, the company behind local animation series Upin & Ipin, yesterday mocked the National Art Gallery for its Japanese-themed cartoon exhibition featuring Doraemon.

On its Facebook page, the company that is one of the biggest animation firms in Malaysia ridiculed the exhibition that is held supposedly in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2020.

"When you can use foreign animation to promote Malaysia, why bother using local animation?” it sarcastically said, attaching a news report on the plan.

In the report, National Art Gallery chairman Datuk Rashidi Hasbullah was quoted as saying the Japanese-themed exhibition could indirectly promote Malaysia in the eyes of the world.

This comes as Rashidi launched the country’s first Doraemon store at KLIA2.

Meanwhile, the fan page of renowned cartoonist Datuk Mohammad Nor Khalid, or Lat, also lashed out at the decision, saying it was disappointed with the move.

"There are plenty of popular local cartoon characters that could be used for the exhibition, but they have instead decided on a foreign cartoon character,” it said in a posting.

Created by the late Fujio F. Fujiko, Doraemon achieved immense popularity in Malaysia in the 1990s after the Malay-dubbed version of its anime series and the Malay translation of its manga were released here.

*The previous version of the report incorrectly attributed a quote to Datuk Mohammad Nor Khalid. This mistake has been rectified and we apologise for the mistake.