Why Malaysia needs to invest 0.1% of its budget in arts and culture

ReformARTsi calls on the Malaysian government to commit to consistent financing for arts and culture, specifically to allocate at least a minimum of 0.1% of our annual national budget to the development of the sector.

Beginning with Budget 2026, it is vital to develop a more strategic investment in:

• preserving Malaysia’s multiple histories and heritage
• inculcating citizens with invaluable skills geared towards participatory democracy like critical thinking and creativity
• upholding and celebrating the diversity of Malaysia’s society
• building audiences for the arts
• empowering Malaysia’s youth and workforce with a sense of identity and creativity

This is why priority should be given to arts and culture. Funds specifically for arts and culture should not be absorbed by expenses related to other industries like tourism.

The current economic landscape for the arts and culture community is characterised by:

• the current fragmented governance of the sector (with responsibilities split across multiple ministries and agencies)
• a lack of government accountability and impact evaluation mechanisms within funding programmes
• and seasonal short-term grant schemes

This poses severe challenges to artists and culture workers in running their programmes and projects in the long run – putting their livelihoods at risk and dampening their professional development.

To mitigate these issues, artists have had to pursue stop-gap solutions like accepting lower professional fees, crowdfunding or corporate sponsorship. This is still not sustainable, not for the individual professionals, and not for Malaysia’s arts and culture for the long term.

When disbursing grants and incentives for artists, audience development and arts education, ReformARTsi urges the Malaysian government to diversify the funding sources to cater to a range of needs and to improve the transparency, timeliness and accountability in all funding processes.

Decisions regarding funds allocation should remain public, including the information about recipients, award sizes or types and the reasonings.

Similarly, state agencies appointed to distribute the government funding should comprehensively report on how and where funds are used on an annual basis.

The allocation of these funds should be made available to all artists from all communities, no matter their beliefs, backgrounds or disciplines.

ReformARTsi recognises that increased and consistent funding is only one out of multiple changes that are needed to build a thriving arts and culture ecosystem.

That is why we are also raising a petition to people in Malaysia who deeply care for their arts and culture, to call for the formation of a task force consisting of a majority of arts and culture workers from the government and grassroots communities.

This task force would formulate a 15-year national arts and culture blueprint that leads the way for the improvement of arts education in all public schools, for upholding the fundamental rights of all artists, and for a dedicated ministry for arts, culture and the creative economy. This ministry will be able to streamline governance for all arts and culture-related activities, including the management of the 0.1% budget allocation.

Without a long-term plan like a 15-year blueprint, issues in the arts and culture sector will not be addressed strategically but in a reactionary manner, which effectively prevents the growth of this industry.

The lack of a comprehensive blueprint will not only hamper our ability to compete with our neighbours on the global stage but also inevitably lead to arts and cultural amnesia among the multicultural people of Malaysia.

To read more about the changes ReformARTsi is calling for to ensure that everyone in Malaysia can participate in a vibrant, robust artistic and cultural life, read our Seni Untuk Semua petition and learn more about our calls that will be presented to the prime minister and cabinet.

ReformARTsi is a coalition of 180 Malaysian artists, including representatives from 65 arts organisations, advocating for policy change in arts education, freedom of expression and financing for the arts.

The views expressed in Aliran’s media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran’s official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran’s official position.

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