IPOH, Aug 8 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Education (MOE) will submit an application for Gendang 24 Perayaan to be recognised as a cultural heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh said the effort was among the ministry’s key aspirations and objectives to ensure that the heritage art form continues to be preserved, developed and introduced to younger generations.
“In May, my team and I sat down to discuss how we could assist Gendang 24 Perayaan in its application to UNESCO, which is an important vision and objective,” he said.
He said this in his speech at the closing ceremony of the National Primary Schools Gendang 24 Finals Competition at Stadium Indera Mulia here tonight.
Wong said various discussions had been held at both ministry and community levels to identify steps and changes that could be implemented to strengthen efforts to develop Gendang 24 Perayaan.
He said one of the initiatives undertaken by MOE was the Train the Trainers programme to train school educators, who would then introduce and develop the art of Gendang 24 Perayaan in more schools.
The inaugural competition was organised by the Sports, Co-curricular and Arts Division of MOE and the Malaysia Gendang 24 Perayaan Association, with Yayasan Sime Darby as the main sponsor.
A total of 16 top primary school teams, comprising 417 students from schools nationwide, competed in the event, demonstrating the level of arts education in schools as well as the younger generation’s enthusiasm for continuing the local cultural heritage.
Gendang 24 Perayaan was founded in Malaysia in 1988 by two cultural figures, the late Tan Hooi Song and Tan Chai Puan, before being recognised as Intangible National Heritage in 2009.
After 38 years, the art of Gendang 24 Perayaan has grown from just a few school teams to hundreds of schools nationwide, becoming a cultural art form closely associated with Malaysia.
-- BERNAMA