Friday March 31, 2006

RM11.6m less for culture

By REVATHI MURUGAPPAN

ARTISTS are not going to happy when they find out the culture, arts and heritage allocation has been reduced by RM11.6mil under the 9MP.

During the Eighth Malaysia Plan, the expenditure was RM454mil but for the next five years, the budget is RM442.4mil.

Of this total, 63% is to be used for preservation and conservation of cultural heritage and the balance, for implementation of various arts and cultural programmes.

When former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched Vision 2020, he outlined various challenges we had to overcome en route to achieving developed country status.

The first of the challenges was to establish a united Malaysian nation with a sense of common and shared destiny.

Every race is championing their respective cultural traditions but there is no sight of an integrated bangsa shaping any time soon.

“I have never believed in Bangsa Malaysia as defined and articulated by politicians. In that sense, I do not believe that Bangsa Malaysia is shaping well.

“However, I believe in our deeper history of interaction and cultural confluence”, said Eddin Khoo, director of Pusaka, Centre for the Study and Documentation of Traditional Performance in Malaysia.

Co-founder and director of arts portal Kakiseni.Com, Kathy Rowland said she was confused as to what exactly the term referred to.

“Our politicians are even more confused than we are. Everyone is saying a different thing,” she remarked.

However, Khoo is happy to note that the current administration has identified cultural awareness as a priority. Although the new consolidated ministry has made many positive changes in terms of preserving our arts, culture and heritage, Malaysia lags behind in comparison with other developing countries.

Malaysia is behind Singapore in the development of the arts and unlike sports, there is no arts education curriculum in our schools and almost every art-centred activity is placed under optional co-curricular activity.

“If you don’t lay the groundwork in our schools, you can’t expect our students to jump into university and study the arts. How can you achieve a pool of creative talent when they have no basics?” asked Rowland.

“What is positive is that there has been a real investment in terms of infrastructure. We finally have our own national theatre. Cambodia built hers in the 1960s!” added Rowland.

Although Malaysia’s heritage is rich, complex and cosmopolitan, Khoo believes the resplendent heritage was under threat from more puritanical forces who would like to see a more mono-cultural, racial-religious-community-centric cultural condition in Malaysia

“The Malaysian heritage is an encapsulation of the nation’s historical and cultural reality. It is not an experience that can be shaped by edict or policy. Edict and policy must be directed only at helping illuminate the complexities of the nation’s cultural composition,” said Khoo.

“Among the more pragmatic ways of preserving our cultural heritage is imbuing an appreciation of it within the very fabric of Malaysian society – in the education system.

“For example, allow and encourage a greater public interaction with our heritage,” he added.

Khoo was delighted with the National Heritage Act 2005, calling its enforcementa momentous achievement.

He added, however, it was important to appreciate what lay behind an act of preservation or it became a sentimental exercise.

Rowland said heritage should be a way of life, practised by every Malaysian.

“We must remember not to enclose heritage in a glass case and say, it cannot be changed. Then it becomes a problem.”

It’s a long shot to nurture more talents in arts and craft.

“Until we are able to convince the public that the arts and craft industry is viable and can lead to professional opportunities, that it is a realm in which creativity and the imagination can evolve and be appreciated, the potential of the arts and craft will remain unrealised.

“Again, these principles should be embedded within the education system,” opined Khoo.

On making Kuala Lumpur a cultural hub for the region, Rowland said it was unfortunate that culture was often seen as a commodity for the tourist industry, thus the aesthetic value was sometimes lost.

Khoo believes Kuala Lumpur has great potential but a lot of its facilities are not being put to good use. For instance, there are no buses or LRTs to Istana Budaya, our cultural pride.

“It all comes down to how seriously we take ourselves as people. Malaysians don’t take themselves seriously. We would like to leave our cultural interactions to attending Muhibbah open houses,” said Khoo.

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