Abdul Karim officiating the opening of the ‘Seni Perdana’ dialogue at a local hotel here yesterday.
KUCHING (Sept 23): The transformation of the old Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) building into a Centre of Performing Arts will soon be a symbol of pride for the people in the state, said Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
Abdul Karim said the contractor had already been identified to undertake the renovation works at the old DUN building at Petra Jaya but the Covid-19 pandemic had caused a delay in the project completion.
“I personally wish to see the local arts industry continue to be developed and I always guide myself that we want to see Kuching as a city with a soul,” he said during at ‘Seni Perdana’ dialogue held at a local hotel here.
Through the assistance of higher learning institutions and art schools, Abdul Karim hoped there would be weekly, bi-weekly or monthly performances at the Centre of Performing Arts once the renovation project has been completed.
“Once the Covid-19 pandemic subsides, I hope maybe tourists can spend a day at the Centre of Performing Arts of world-class standard appreciating the arts and cultural heritage of our state, aside from visiting other tourist attractions.”
Through his ministry, Abdul Karim said he would extend his fullest support to the arts industry players to further promote their craft and achieve a higher level of success, including through financial support.
He also advised arts performers to contribute to Social Security Organisation (Socso) to enjoy benefits offered as part a social safety net, since they were most likely not members of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) like their counterparts in the public and private sector.
Nonetheless, Abdul Karim remarked Sarawak was a melting pot of cultures with unique heritage and arts from its diverse ethnic communities.
“We must always remember Sarawak is a uniquely diverse society and the development of the arts industry should not only focus on the heritage of a certain group of community. The development needs to be across all the ethnic groups in the state.”
On another matter, he said the state government had already planned to convert forts built in the Brooke era into museums.
Also, Abdul Karim said the public should play their part in supporting the arts performing players by paying them a decent fee for their performance to enable them to sustain themselves.
“Arts industry participants can also set up their own society or association to engage with the government on the challenges and issues they face.”
One major factor for the local arts scene to prosper is for all stakeholders to cooperate closely, including taking care of the wellbeing of the arts community, Abdul Karim added.
The minister also said that his ministry will look into the proposal of offering awards to aspiring arts performers in the state to assist the growth of the local arts industry.
The objective of holding the ‘Seni Perdana’ dialogue yesterday was to facilitate information exchanges related to arts and cultural activities in the state, as well as explaining the functions of the State Arts Council in the development of the local arts scene.
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