Why Malaysia Needs a Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Heritage

When the new Pakatan Harapan government announced 13 new Ministries on the 19th of May, a ministry dedicated to Malaysian culture, arts, and heritage wasn’t amongst them. This spurred a group of arts and culture practitioners to issue a statement calling for the government to reinstate a dedicated Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Heritage in the new cabinet - and within 36 hours, over 3,400 members of the local arts and culture communities had endorsed the statement. Three of the people behind the statement talk to us about why a Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Heritage is necessary for Malaysia.