KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Bernama) -- The fact that the creative industry can be
one of the country''s main economic pillars is beginning to sink in with the
people, especially those with the creative potential to make a big difference.
With the government’s recognition that the creative industry can generate
income and job opportunities as well as its encouragement and stimulus, there
has been a resurgence of activity in this field.
This is especially so when the government, through the Ministry of
Information, Communications and Culture, had formulated 11 strategies under the
National Creative Industry Policy to make the industry more organised and
dynamic.
It has been estimated that the creative industry contributed about 1.27 per
cent to the country’s Gross National Product in 2008 and the aim is to raise
this contribution even further.
Most developed countries like Britain and the United States have higher
contributions, of 4.5 per cent and 6.0 per cent, to GNP respectively.
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Scant attention was perhaps given previously because the industry was
loosely set up and its enormous economic potential was clouded. But the
government has since taken cognisance of this potential after it had seen the
pro-active stance taken by other countries.
Take film-making, for example. Thanks to the government’s decision to accord
equal status for tax incentives to all locally-produced movies, be they in
Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese or Tamil as long as 51 per cent of the movie rights are
owned by Malaysians and that 50 per cent is produced or shot locally, there has
been an increase in film-making in the country.
The idea here is not to just to make movies for the sake of making them or
to fulfil one’s ambition, it’s about making our Malaysian-made movies count at
the box office, not only in the country but also beyond our shores.
Hence, the need for a re-think on how Malaysian-made movies and
documentaries can draw in audiences, either through collaboration with foreign
parties and the like.
Some headway has been made following several nudges by the Minister of
Information, Communications and Culture, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, a passionate
advocate of culture and the arts, to agencies under his ministry. “Be innovative
and think outside the box” has been his usual battle-cry.
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FINAS, the National Film Development Corporation, has teamed up with
National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) to produce several 60-minute
documentaries on Malaysian subjects.
They include “Becoming a King”, “SMART Tunnel”, “Fight Masters: Silat”,
“Among the Great Apes with Michelle Yeoh" and “A Leader’s Legacy: Tun Abdul
Razak”, which represented the work of some of Malaysia’s talented producers.
The fact that such documentaries had been successfully produced is testimony
to Malaysia’s rich combination of talent and unique stories, a fact acknowledged
by National Geographic Channel’s Vice President of Content Sales, Germaine
Deagan.
The operative word here is creativity. The message is simple: how to tell
good stories cleverly and hold audiences spellbound.
Following the breakthrough by FINAS, other agencies under the ministry, like
Filem Negara and even Radio Television Malaysia (RTM), have been told to produce
high quality documentaries that can be exported. Gone are the days when the
documentaries were primarily aimed at local audiences.
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Even ASWARA or the National Arts, Culture and Heritage Academy, an agency
under the ministry, has got into the act by becoming the first local educational
institution to set up a faculty solely dedicated to film animation, said its
Rector, Datuk Dr Mohamed Najib Dawa. The first intake of 20 students for a
three-year diploma course is on July 18.
ASWARA’s decision is consistent with its mission to produce graduates needed
by the market, said Dr Najib, who is proud that 95 per cent of ASWARA graduates
land themselves a job upon graduation.
And to demonstrate how serious it is about where it wants its students to be
when they graduate, it recently invited Raman Hui, an animator associated with
popular animation films like “Shrek” and “Kungfu Panda”, for a one-day workshop.
If one were to look around, there is no shortage of talent in various
disciplines in the country. Many Malaysian singers, like Gary Chaw and Ah Niu,
have already made a name for themselves in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China.
Just the other day, 17 year-old Wan Muhammad Hazzim Wan Muhammad Zulkifli
from SMK Datuk Dol in Melaka beat an international field of artists in an
artwork competition for the “Iridescent” album cover released by rock band
Linkin Park, whose song has been featured on the soundtrack of the
“Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon” movie.
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Recently a barrage of comments appeared in the media and Internet sphere
debating on the allocation of government funds to help the creative industry,
after Bernama, the national news agency, misquoted the amount spent on the
celebrations of “Hari Seniman”, a special day dedicated to local artistes.
Less than RM100,000 was spent for the event, said Modzaki Din, the under
secretary for events at the ministry, not RM100 million as stated.
For the record, 97 applications for RM99.95 million worth of loans under the
Creative Industry Fund had so far been approved to boost the creative industry
in activities like film productions, animation and music, said the ministry’s
deputy secretary general (culture), Datuk Ab. Ghaffar A. Thambi. Another 60
applications for RM88.4 million under the same fund are being evaluated.
The ministry''s secretary-general Datuk Seri Kamaruddin Siaraf said the fund
is to help boost those in the industry so that their products and services could
be improved and exported to earn revenue for the country.
But then not all successful artistes need government help. The really
creative ones don’t have the subsidy mentality. Take Miri-born singer Zee Avi,
also known as KokoKaina, as an example.
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The singer, whose real name is Izyan Alirahman, used the “YouTube” channel
to advantage to become a popular singer in the United States and Japan. With one
hit album under her belt, she is due to release another next month.
Another young singer, UiTM (University Teknologi Mara) graduate Yuna, whose
real name is Yunalis Zarai, also used the Internet to generate strong interest
among her fans. And because of her charming personality and good articulation in
English, she is able to get sponsorship from major companies like Canon, DiGi
and Malaysia Airlines to fund her singing pursuits abroad.
The sky is the limit for these people. They know where their talent and
creativity can take them without relying on government hand-outs. These are the
kind of talents that the country needs badly.
All in all, it cannot be denied that the local creative scene, especially in
culture and the arts, is seeing greater activity these days.
One does not have to go far to see the snowballing effect. The ongoing KL
Festival, a showcase of various art and culture activities at venues like Istana
Budaya (Palace of Culture) and Balai Seni Lukis Negara (National Art Gallery)
until the end of this month, is again testimony to the government’s seriousness
in promoting the creative industry.
-- BERNAMA
SHY SHY MGN
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