PM: Daken 2021 to uplift nation’s arts, culture, heritage

By Maryam Nasir

KUALA LUMPUR, 26 October 2021: The National Cultural Policy 2021 (Daken 2021), aimed at uplifting and upholding the country’s arts, culture, and heritage, will be a guide as well as a reference in the sector’s development.

Prime Minister, Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said this initiative goes hand-in-hand with making this sector a socio-economic catalyst for Keluarga Malaysia.

At the launch of Daken 2021 last night, he said the cultural sector long had great potential as an economic generator, recording revenue of RM585 million in 2019, a leap from the RM542 million generated in 2017.

“Now, the figure shows a convincing recovery as soon as the country transitions into the COVID-19 endemic phase.

“The government has set a revenue target for this sector at RM1 billion by the year 2025,” he said at the launch of Daken 2021, here, tonight.

Present at the event were Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, her deputy, Datuk Seri Dr. Santhara Kumar, and the Ministry’s secretary-general, Datuk Dr. Noor Zari Hamat.

The Prime Minister said the government was confident that it could achieve the target through various development strategies and structured programmes.

These include the Permata Genius and Tunas Budaya programmes, which help inculcate art, culture and heritage to the children of Keluarga Malaysia.

“This strategy covers education at the pre-school, primary, and secondary levels.

“As the saying goes, ‘melentur buluh, biarlah dari rebungnya’ (inculcating good values should start at an early age).

“Now, all higher education institutions have also placed co-curricular activities as a prerequisite to complete the measure of student excellence.”

Daken 2021 underscores seven thrusts: a culture of high values; harmony of society; the preservation and conservation of cultural heritage; cultural development and expansion; cultural empowerment; generation of cultural economy; and, cultural excellence.

The Prime Minister said even though the country had achieved excellence through the 1971 National Cultural Policy, it was already half a century old.

To guarantee the sustainability of culture, he said, a policy that has the spirit and principles as before should be established.

“At each core, human capital development is consistently included. Besides formal arts, culture and heritage education, this policy also applies non-formal education as an effort to produce successors to existing arts, culture and heritage activists.”

Daken 2021 also outlines Malaysia’s direction of becoming a Developed Nation with Cultured People (Negara Maju Rakyat Berbudaya), formulated based on five principles of the Keluarga Malaysia, including inclusivity, togetherness, a spirit of pride, openness and wholeness, said Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri.

“The government has high confidence in the ability of Daken 2021 as an effort to uplift and uphold the country’s arts, culture and heritage.

“Therefore, I call upon all Keluarga Malaysia to support this policy so that aspects of the country’s arts, culture and heritage continue to be preserved.” ***

Source: New Straits Times

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