Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture of Malaysia: Malaysia is Looking Forward to Cooperating With China in the Cultural and Creative Industry

Written by Lin Han / Translated by Xie Zongming

“Museum” is a buzzword in culture in recent years. In the past, cultural relics lie quietly in the showcases. Today, they have “entered” normal people’s lives in various ways and forms.

At the 17th China-ASEAN Cultural Forum held in Beihai, Guangxi, on June 2, the Malaysian Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture YB Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri said that it is convincing that Malaysia and China will keep learning from each other through events like this Forum to facilitate the exchange of experience and knowledge about cultural relics activation and cultural & creative industry development, enhancing the relations between the two countries.

Malaysia’s experience in cultural relics activation 

17 years of holding the China-ASEAN Cultural Forum witnessed the close cultural exchange between China and ASEAN. The theme of this forum is “Museum Cultural Relics Activation and the Development of Cultural and Creative Industry”, which suggests the current focus of the culturology and museology academics and even of the whole society on relics activation. The topic is also discussed in Malaysia.

In the academia of museology, Malaysia is the rising star in Southeast Asia, having three pioneering museums, namely the Perak Museum, Sarawak State Museum, and Sultan Alam Shah Museum, that mark the beginning of museology in Malaysia. Into the 21st century, the development momentum of Malaysian museums grows stronger and they have accumulated unique experiences in activating the cultural relics.

The Minister said, “As Malaysia continues to overcome COVID-19 challenges, growth within the digital economy has accelerated with greater digitalization and focus on sustainable development. Department of Museums Malaysia launched the Augmented Reality Project that allows the public to access information on 28 selected collections in the National Museum in augmented reality (AR) in 2D and 3D.”

With advanced technology, the Virtual Exhibitions can connect the public with the museum in an immersive, interactive, and virtual space that allows them to engage through a 360-degree digital experience, letting the tourists fully get the charm of the museums.

“Recently, we have also successfully implemented the rare book digitalization project for book collections at the Perak Museum. The Rare Collection is material published before the 1950s and/or difficult to obtain, out of print, or no longer in the market. As a pilot project, 24 rare books have been digitalized as preservation measures,” said the Minister Shukri, and added, “The collections do not only serve to give an understanding about the importance of the collection but to also learn and appreciate the history, heritage, and culture of Malaysia. It also serves to show the ingenuity and wisdom of the previous generations in producing equipment to make their everyday lives easier and more comfortable.”

Looking forward to enhancing the cooperation in the creative industry

Malaysia’s 2022 Budget announcement ignited optimism for the industry to bounce back stronger with an accumulated allocated budget of RM 258 million to rejuvenate the creative industry.

Although the main indicator shows a small contribution, there is huge room for improvement to increase the industry’s overall contribution as the creative industry has become the competitive edge and growth of many high-growth companies globally.

“I believe that Malaysia and China will continue to learn from each other, allowing the exchange of experience and expertise on the activation of cultural relics and the development of the cultural and creative industry,” said the Minister.

She also said that to further strengthen the cordial friendship, Malaysia looks forward to collaboration in areas suitable, including exhibition collaborations, expert training, or exchange programs. Malaysia will continue to support cultural and creative initiatives which will strengthen ties between China and ASEAN countries and enhance mutual cultural prosperity and development toward building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.