The Tourism, Arts, Culture and Heritage portfolio will now be known as the “Tourism and Creative Economy”.

Penang is the first state in Malaysia to introduce the Creative Economy portfolio.

Helming the new portfolio with effect Sept 15, 2020 is Yeoh Soon Hin who is also the state assemblyman for Paya Terubong.

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The announcement made by Penang Chief Minister, Chow Kon Yeow on Wednesday (Sept 9) on the restructuring of the Penang State EXCO’s portfolios.

“In recent decades, aspects of creativity, culture and heritage have served as catalysts to spur local economic development which have been at the forefront of the state’s policy agendas.

“By leveraging the arts, culture and heritage industries, the creative economy paves the way for economic dynamism from a macro perspective.

“The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Council on Monument and Sites (ICOMOS) and the Heritage Alliance of UK have recognised that the Creative Economy, evolved from Creative Industries, has grown rapidly and become increasingly important.

“UNESCO in many conferences has reaffirmed the need to preserve cultural heritage through creative industries.

“As we move into a new era of technology and digitalisation, the approach to preserve cultural heritage must evolve continuously with time and current technologies. Creative industries are one of the effective ways to preserve cultural heritage and to add value to heritage.

“London and Paris are very successful examples in preserving cultural heritage through creative industries,” he said.

Yeoh also added that the arts, culture and heritage sectors have been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in our country.

“Thus, it is important to drive new thinking and new energy in order to take us out of the crisis of this magnitude and to strengthen the resilience of these industries for the future.

“Through this restructuring, the state aims to create more jobs, attract new investments, further enhance the quality of life as well as to empower the local community,” said Yeoh in a press statement.