Encik Azman Ibrahim, head of media relations department, Petronas, was announced as the winner of the award for the creative use of local wood in the Anugerah Kreatif Anjung Seri 2005 (Anjung Seri Creative Awards). He walked away with a special trophy and cash prize of RM1,500 in a prize presentation ceremony on December 2 in Kuala Lumpur. The awards were presented by YB Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui, Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities.

Anjung Seri is a leading interior design, furnishing and landscape magazine in Malaysia. The publisher of the Bahasa Malaysia monthly, Berita Publishing Sdn Bhd, organises the annual awards to acknowledge owners of homes and workplaces featured in the magazine, who have shown outstanding décor and appeal in their residence and offices. Categories of prizes were private residences (bungalow, link and codominium), homes of celebrities, offices, garden décor and creative use of wood, the last two being newly introduced awards.

MTIB contributed the debut award for the creative use of Malaysian wood in residential homes or commercial areas. The award was created in appreciation of designs and décor which highlighted the aesthetic application of local timber. Encik Azman, the recipient of the award, has a penchant for wood since young. Having lived in a wooden kampong house in Kelantan, he prefers the warmth of timber over other materials used in modern-day buildings. His winning home flaunts the extensive use of Merbau for flooring and Nyatoh for cabinetry and joinery. There is also abundant evidence of utilization of wood as decorative items, which, according to the young executive, were brought from the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.