Compiled by ZAKIAH KOYA, R. ARAVINTHAN and JAROD LIM
AN Indian folk art school which was shuttered by the authorities on Sunday was allowed to reopen thanks to the support of the Perak government and leaders, Malaysia Nanban reported.
The Sebasthiyar Kalaikkoodam folk art academy, which was founded 33 years ago, had been using government quarters as its base with permission since 2009.
The closure of the school was due to a delay in paying rent, which its founder Iruthayam Sebasthiyar clarified happened due to him being abroad.
When he returned from Tamil Nadu, India, the building had been sealed while all instruments and props were removed and left by the roadside, he was quoted as saying.
Sebasthiyar said more than 600,000 people voiced their support for the school online which was heartening to see.
> A total of 105 artefacts which were smuggled out of India will be returned in a historic move following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States, Malaysia Nanban also reported.
Indian representatives and their US counterparts held a joint repatriation ceremony at the Indian consulate in New York on Monday to formally return custody of the artefacts.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
