Whether the arts industry in Malaysia is essential or not, will soon become a “non-issue” said Saifuddin Abdullah.

The Communications and Multimedia Minister, in replying to Eksentrika’s question, gave assurance that the concern for the arts industry being classified as not among “essential services”, will soon be less of a point of contention.

He said the ministry liked to emphasise a key term to refer to the arts, which is “industry” to impress upon the public that arts are essential.

“More people will understand that under the Covid-19 pandemic, every service is essential… people will soon forget what is essential or not.

“We want to impress upon the public that the arts industry is superior and a contributor to the GDP, not just a beneficiary,” he said in a virtual press conference to announce funding assistance disbursed by the  Malaysian Cultural Economic Development Agency (CENDANA) on August 9, 2021.

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Copied and pasted from Eksentrika.

By December 2021, a total of RM25 million in government funds will be disbursed to arts practitioners in the country, Saifuddin added.

“More than 60% of an initial RM17 million in funds have already been given out through CENDANA.

“These funds are aimed to assist in two primary ways, which is to ensure the survival of arts practitioners and continuation of the local arts and culture activities in Malaysia,” he said to the media who were present at the virtual session organised by CENDANA.

Saifuddin, however, acknowledged that there were still improvements to be made in terms of spreading awareness for the funding and other assistance programs that are available to all Malaysian arts practitioners.

This was highlighted in a question by Kathy Bah Takoi of Asyik FM, who pointed out that many among the Orang Asli community still did not know of the numerous advantages they are supposed to have access to.

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Kathy asked if there were any mechanisms to better encourage participants of Orang Asli in these assistance schemes.

“We will need to go back to the drawing board and discuss how the various agencies can work together towards this,” said Saifuddin.

He pointed out that there were different government agencies to assist with various disciplines in the Arts industry, such as Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) with animation, The National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS) for short films or documentaries apart from CENDANA.

In speaking directly to several arts practitioners representing different groups, such as frontman for An Honest Mistake, Darren Teh, representing the indie music scene, Zamzuriah Zahari, Dance Faculty Dean, and Traditional Theatre lecturer of the National Arts and Culture and Traditional Heritage Academy (ASWARA), Mohd Nizam Rahmat, CEO of Segaris Art Center in Publika and Emily Jeneble, a traditional crafts maker from Keningau, Sabah, Saifuddin also expressed that the government had no interest to curb arts practitioners from their crafts.

This was evident in the way that CENDANA had been given green light to support and champion traditional arts in Malaysia which include the Mah Meri Orang Asli Mask Dance, Mak Yong, Kuda Kepang, Wayang Kulit, and the Main Puteri dance and Hokkien Potehi, a type of glove puppet theater similar to Chinese Opera.

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CENDANA CEO, Izan Satrina Mohd Sallehuddin said some RM17 million in approved funds would benefit some 500 to 700 arts practitioners and are expected to create job opportunities for up to 11,000 Malaysians.

She said out of that, RM7 million had gone towards funding for 12 programmes that involve skills workshops and platform initiatives for independent musicians, visual arts, performance arts, and others.

“We noticed an age difference among the arts practitioners based on their choice of discipline.

“Craftsmen, for example, are usually above 30 years old and come from states such as Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu, and Melaka.

“Younger arts practitioners gravitated more towards music, visual, and performing arts,” said Izan.

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