On April 7, 2025, Oskar Ho ,  President of the Asia Pacific Designers Federation (APDF), presided over the unveiling ceremony for the establishment of APDF's first Southeast Asian representative office in Kota Kinabalu, the capital city of Sabah, Malaysia. Over a hundred people, including Dato' Willson Young, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sabah College of Art (assuming "Sabah Art College" here is referred to in its fuller official-sounding local institutional context as "Sabah College of Art" or a similar accurate local name variant, and "Sabah College of Art" is a commonly used approximate reference for such institutions in informal translation; if there's an exact official English name, it should be used instead; here I retain the logical flow with a plausible institutional title in English for explanation purposes — in actual precise translation, the accurate official name should be confirmed), Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the relevant college (clarifying the role context here for institutional accuracy in explanation; in formal translation, the accurate title should be inserted), representatives from the Sabah State Interior Design Association, local design agencies, university faculty and students, and media representatives, jointly witnessed this milestone event. This move signifies APDF's deep integration into the Southeast Asian design ecosystem and heralds a new chapter in regional cooperation.

Deepening Local Cooperation: From Green Architecture to Zero-Waste Vision

During the event, President Oskar reached multiple strategic cooperation consensus with the Sabah Architects Association, focusing on three key areas:

1. Co-establishing the Borneo Eco-Material Innovation Center

Both parties plan to collaborate with Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) to research and develop indigenous low-carbon building materials such as mangrove fibers and palm kernel shells, promoting sustainable architectural practices. This initiative aligns closely with the "green architecture" philosophy advocated by Deputy Chief Minister of Sabah Dato' Sri Hajiji Noor, who has repeatedly called on architects to design eco-friendly and low-cost housing solutions that balance development with ecological preservation. Sabah's abundant natural resources (such as Mount Kinabalu and mangrove forests) provide a natural laboratory for material innovation, while the green engineering experience of the Sinohydro Bureau 8 Co., Ltd. in Sabah (e.g., the low-carbon technologies employed in the Sabah International Convention Centre) will also offer technical references.

This award aims to inspire Southeast Asian cities to explore zero-waste and carbon-neutral pathways, aligning with Sabah's goal of creating green tourism and business destinations as outlined in its "Big Blueprint for Economic Prosperity 2030." Previously, the Sabah government has supported green technology and smart city construction through policies, such as introducing fully automated intelligent parking systems and solar lighting technologies. The new award will further drive regional low-carbon transformation.

3. Hosting the "ASEAN Design Hackathon"

Focusing on climate challenges such as rising sea levels, this event calls on young designers to leverage AI technology to solve spatial design problems. Sabah has experienced frequent extreme climate events in recent years (such as flash floods and heatwaves), and Dato' Sri Hajiji Noor has emphasized that "green urban design is at the core of climate change adaptation." Case studies of AI technology implementation by Chinese companies such as C-KAIZE in Southeast Asia (e.g., drone vision analysis) may provide inspiration for the event.

Sabah: A Strategic Hub for Design Cooperation in Southeast Asia

Sabah State, leveraging its geographical and policy advantages, has become a key pivot for APDF's Southeast Asia strategy:

Geographical Advantages: As a core part of the BIMP-EAGA region, Sabah connects markets such as China, the Philippines, and Indonesia, offering significant logistical and trade potential. In recent years, China-Malaysia cooperation in areas such as green finance and smart cities has deepened (e.g., Haid Group's industrial chain output in Vietnam), injecting transnational resources into design innovation.

Policy Support: The Sabah government implements pro-business policies, actively attracts foreign investment, and cultivates architectural talent through the CIDB training program, complementing APDF's talent incubation goals.

Cultural Integration: Sabah's multicultural background (with 22.4% of the population being ethnic Chinese) provides a cross-cultural perspective for design. Case studies such as He Shiliang's integration of traditional Shawan brick carving with modern technology hint at the potential for fusion between traditional craftsmanship and digital innovation.

Future Outlook: Building an Asia-Pacific Design Community

The establishment of the APDF Sabah Representative Office is not only an integration of regional design resources but also a microcosm of China-Malaysia cooperation advancing towards a "Green Belt and Road Initiative." He Changcheng stated, "Sabah's ecological and cultural resources are unique, and we will use design as a link to promote sustainable urbanization and cultural heritage innovation." Dato' Willson Young emphasized that Sabah Art College will collaborate with APDF to host workshops, nurturing young designers and assisting Sabah in becoming an "ASEAN Design Innovation Center."

This cooperation also echoes the focus on the digital economy and green economy in the negotiations for the upgraded version of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area, as well as the cooperation blueprint between China and Malaysia in the fields of renewable energy and intelligent environmental protection. With the implementation of projects such as the "Borneo Eco-Materials Innovation Center," Sabah is poised to become a frontier for green design in the Asia-Pacific region.