O’Neil (second from left) stirring ‘dodol’ during a Hari Raya gathering at Legoland Malaysia. Looking on are (from left) Legoland Malaysia divisional director CS Lim, Merlin Entertainment chief of staff Piper Heitzler, Legoland Malaysia’s sales and marketing director M. Thila and its commercial director Calvin Stevenson.
Outlet in Johor to design and construct miniature sets for China
The two new Legoland theme parks set to open soon in China will have many of their miniature models designed and built at the Lego model shop in Senai, Johor.
Merlin Entertainments (Merlin) chief executive officer Scott M O’Neil said its model shop in Johor was the biggest among three such shops in the world.
“We have these shops in the United States and in the United Kingdom,” he said, adding that a lot of technology went into building a Lego model set.
He said the company currently had 75 master model builders from across the world who were “the key” in designing and construction for Lego attractions.
“Now we are in search of a master builder from Malaysia.
“We hope to find the right candidate soon,” he said during a Hari Raya celebration with Legoland Malaysia staff.
He explained that in the United States and Europe, the Lego Group would organise competitions for people to show off their Lego skills.
“For this job, one has to be able to build or have a mind to create things as well as interact with children,” he said, adding that part of Lego’s magic was that it encouraged people to learn through play.
On the new Legoland Resorts, he said that the ones in Shanghai and Shenzhen would bring the total number of such parks around the world to 12.
O’Neil, who is in Malaysia for the second time, explained that Merlin presently managed 142 attractions in 23 countries worldwide.
“Last year, we had about 62 million visitors at our attractions worldwide,” he said, revealing that Merlin globally ranked second after Disney.
O’Neil, who has been with Merlin for about 17 months, also commended the Malaysian Legoland team for reflecting the company’s principles and aspirations.
“This was something special that I noticed and felt when I visited this park for the first time last year.
“There is strong unity here despite the three distinctive cultures in the country,” he said, adding that they had about 800 employees here.
The park also organises events all year long, including during major festivals such as the recent Hari Raya celebrations.
O’Neil pointed out that the net promoter score (NPS) – a measure of how guests feel about their experience at the rated venue and of the brand – for Legoland Malaysia was 20% higher than Merlin’s baseline across other attraction parks.
“Another measure which looks at internal engagement involving staff working here showed that it was 23% higher than our benchmark across the company,” he said.
O’Neil explained that globally, Merlin, a brand of 30 years experience, has about 30,000 employees of which 17,000 were under the age of 24.
During his visit to Johor, O’Neil and his team paid a courtesy visit to Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and other state officials.
Onn announced that Legoland Malaysia was ready to take in students on practical training from Kolej Yayasan Pelajaran Johor (KYPJ) to help expand their exposure in the tourism sector.
“Their top management is also ready to offer visiting lecturer services to KYPJ students,” he said, adding that both parties discussed how Merlin could help in the state’s preparation to receive visitors and tourists in conjunction with Visit Johor Year 2026.
“Hopefully, this cooperation will increase economic activities, job opportunities, accelerate the tourism industry and promote Johor in the eyes of the world,” Onn added.
