The Penang state government through the Tourism, Arts, Culture and Heritage Department is currently working out an aid package to alleviate the financial difficulties of Penang artists.

State exco for the department, Yeoh Soon Hin added that for the last 20 years, the Penang State Government has put in a lot of effort to turn Penang into an arts hub in Malaysia.

“It has created jobs and opportunities which have attracted more artists and art lovers to Penang. 

“The only reason an artist chose Penang is because there are a lot of job opportunities for income here and the artists can make money through sales of show tickets as Penang community have a higher appreciation for arts, which in turn sees the market for arts in Penang growing compared to the other places,” said Yeoh in a press statement.

However, Yeoh added that shows and events were inevitably canceled when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.

“In Penang, events such as George Town Festival, George Town Heritage Celebration, and ArtPenang organized by the State Government have been deferred.

“Besides that, events organized by private sectors such as The Sound of the Future Music Concert, Open Studio and others were also called off,” said Teoh.

He added that arts and cultural organizations in Penang are losing hundreds of thousands of ringgit in revenue.

Further, Yeoh said one of his key concerns is that many who are working in these industries will lose their jobs.

“They are not just facing the potential risk of losing their job, they might also face the struggle of having months without an income with productions suspended.

“From the aid packages that are announced  by the new Federal Government, there was no funding or subsidies introduced to support the arts and culture industry.” he added.

He stressed that the Penang State Government takes a serious view on the growth of arts and culture industries and will definitely come out with a plan within their means to help Penang artists to reduce their financial burden. 

“Arts might not be considered as a major industry by many compared to other products but the Penang State Government has put a lot of effort into growing this market and we need to ensure its continuity to keep up the progress which has been achieved all these years through the contribution of many.