'PAY TO KEEP OUR CULTURE ALIVE'

KOTA KINABALU: Malaysians who pay thousands of ringgit to watch concerts or dinner shows should be willing to pay a little to watch cultural performances, Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said yesterday.

"It is disappointing to see Malaysians complaining about us staging top-class cultural performances for a mere RM30, saying it should be free.

"When it comes to dinner shows featuring supermodels or pop stars, they don't mind paying thousands of ringgit," he said after launching the Crafts Exotica Exhibition at the Sabah Museum.

At the recently-concluded Sabah Fest Extravaganza, 800 tickets were sold out for the two-night performances, but most of the audience were foreign tourists.

By the same token, Masidi said the performers should also ensure that they maintain high standards.

"Performers should not just stage simple traditional shows and demand high payment, otherwise it would only put our culture in bad light."

Another approach that needed to be encouraged was to get Malaysians to understand their role in keeping tradition alive, Masidi said.

"Traditional dancers and musicians, handicraft makers and others who help keep our culture alive need money, too.

"To keep them doing what they do, we should help them by contributing to their art."