Boost for the arts as Sabah sees end of hard times

 

Nancy Shukri said that 59 locations had been identified to promote Sabah public visual arts, including 24 streets filled with vibrant wall murals.

KOTA KINABALU: Struggling Sabah tourism players hit by Covid-19 since last year can look forward to some busy times ahead.

Tourism, arts and culture minister Nancy Shukri said her ministry has requested for RM80 million from the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) to build the state’s first cultural village in Papar.

She said they were now waiting for EPU to approve the allocation under the 12th Malaysia Plan.

Since last year, her ministry has set aside almost RM30 million to maintain and develop tourism spots in the state, she said.

The ministry has also launched the Jejak Seni Malaysia – Sabah (Sabah – Malaysia Arts Trail) programme, an ecosystem mapping exercise to boost the arts industry.

Nancy said 59 strategic locations had been identified so far to promote Sabah public visual arts, including 24 streets filled with vibrant wall murals carried out by local art communities, galleries, schools and tattoo outlets, among others.

“It is part of a recovery plan to expand and generate the economy in Sabah during these hard times.

“It is also part of upgrading work while waiting for the tourists to came back,” she said after the launch of the programme, here.

Nancy also witnessed a memorandum of understanding between her ministry and Universiti Malaysia Sabah to open a one-stop art gallery to promote arts and culture in the state.

The gallery, costing RM15 million was donated by Malaysian banker/businessman Azman Hashim and will be used as an art exhibition centre.

Nancy also met Sabah travel agents and stakeholders who had raised concerns over their survival. Nancy gave them a breakdown on how they could benefit from the ongoing National Tourism Policy 2020–2030.

She asked Sabah tourism industry stakeholders to apply for tourism tax and services tax for hotel accommodation until Dec 31.

She also highlighted that cinema operators and spa operators are allowed to delay payment for monthly income tax for the period from April 1 to Dec 31.

As for attracting crowd, agencies under the tourism ministry told industry players that bidding to attract high-yield domestic and international events to the Borneo state are currently underway. - FMT