Message by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
First of all, allow me to thank the Ministry of Tourism for the invitation to address this gathering of artists and art lovers, as well as members of the tourism industry. It is a great pleasure for me to be with all of you today to launch the 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Festival 2010. I am pleased to note the growth of Malaysia’s tourism industry in recent years.
Last year’s tourism performance had been especially encouraging – Malaysia managed to pull off a positive growth despite the miserable tourism outlook forecasted by UNWTO. I believe that it was the concerted effort of all parties in the industry that led to Malaysia posting a growth in tourist arrivals. This remarkable performance in the face of adversity only demonstrates the fact that the tourism industry is capable of greater growth. With resilience, innovation, product quality and excellent service standards, the tourism industry, as part of the larger services sector, is seen to have a critical role in our journey towards making Malaysia a developed nation by 2020.
In tabling the 10th Malaysia Plan, our honourable Prime Minister YAB Datuk Seri Najib Mohamad Razak, mentioned that the government will focus its economic growth efforts on several critical National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs). Among the 12 potential NKEAs that have been identified is the tourism sector.
The government aims to improve Malaysia’s position to be within the top 10 countries, in terms of global receipts by 2015. The target is to increase the sector’s contribution by 2.1 times, contributing RM115 billion in receipts and providing two million jobs in the industry in 2015.
On top of that, the Prime Minister has many times reiterated his desire to see Malaysia advance to a high-income economy, and I believe the tourism industry has the potential to play a much more prominent role in the economy’s growth. With the creation of meaningful and high-value products, accompanied by excellence in service quality, I have no doubt that the tourism industry will be able to attract greater numbers of high nett-worth tourists willing to pay a premium price for a first-rate experience. As such, I welcome joint initiatives by the public and private sectors in creating new and innovative tourism products such as this 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism Festival, to boost the nation’s profile as a top tourist destination, and simultaneously contribute towards the nations’ economic growth.
The organising of the 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism Festival – for the first time – is in line with the government’s target in promoting differentiated strategies to cater for unique and distinctive travellers, in this case, high-yield tourists who can afford the finer things in life.
On a side note, I wish to say that this festival combines the best of both worlds – tourism and art. While at first it may seem that the two are totally separate, closer observation reveals that indeed they both strive for the same. Tourism and art open the eyes of the world to a society’s culture, social structure and history. Both encapsulate the life, spirit, culture and heritage of a country and its society. Art opens up a world of imagination and creativity to people and can instil in them a love and appreciation, which can last throughout their lives.
To be truly developed, Malaysia must look into the arts and cultural offerings that many Malaysians and foreign guests clamour for. The global traveller today is not looking for destinations but experiences, and a strong art tourism offering will enhance our global appeal and keep our tourism offerings fresh, new and exciting.
To achieve this, it cannot be left entirely to the government. The responsibility lies in Malaysia’s private sector initiatives. The 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism is just the first step towards this goal. Malaysians – the artists involved, the art gallery operators, art promoters, art critics, art lovers and art collectors – need to lend their support to making Malaysian art an iconic product that is desired, pursued and collected worldwide.
I believe that Malaysian artists are of world-class standing and their works are on par with other artistic works around the world. I am told that since 2006, prices for the better-known Malaysian modern artists have soared – 100 fold in extreme cases such as the internationally known Ahmad Zakii Anwar – as the general demand for Asian works have reached international markets. Moreover, over the last two years, many major art exhibitions by Malaysian artists have been sold out! Malaysian artists are winning more commissions from Japanese and European museums and being invited to prestigious biennales around the world.
Over the last few years, international auction houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s have also started auctioning Malaysian paintings. This has no doubt contributed to the growing acquisition of Malaysian art both for its aesthetic value and investment.
To those active in the art industry – I appreciate your efforts in creating, appreciating and collecting beautiful artworks. To the artists, especially, you bring meaning to man’s mere existence with your keen observation of life using simply colours and brush.
In the words of Pablo Picasso,
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
It is now my most pleasant task to officially open the inaugural 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism Festival 2010.
Thank you.
