According to a poll carried out by MyCreative Ventures Sdn Bhd (MyCreative), grants, loans, support for marketing and promotion, and job creations are among the wishlist from the Malaysian creative industries for Budget 2021.
The poll titled Malaysia’s Creative Economy Participants’ Wishlist for Budget 2021, received responses from 365 creative practitioners and businesses that hope to receive continued Government support when the Budget is delivered tomorrow.
70 percent of respondents ranked Government Grants and Loans as number one on their wishlist. 42.2 percent requested help with marketing and promotions and 39.5 percent wanted job creation as their priorities.
Below is the percentage of respondents and their wishes from the Government:
- 80.8 percent to ensure that the support to cultural organisations reaches artists and other creative professionals that are self-employed
- 81 percent to include the creative, arts, and cultural sectors as priority sectors in the country’s Covid-19 recovery plan
- 80.1 percent to foster a more sustainable Creative Economy in view of developing careers and businesses
Some of the respondents also opined that the Government should put in place measures to advance the Creative Economy in a sustainable manner that yields both economic and societal benefits. Another suggestion from respondents was for the authorities to focus on arts in education to cultivate audiences and talents for the creative ecosystem.
“During these trying times, we need to get the creative industries active again – to be resilient and survive the disruption caused by the pandemic and to also continue giving voice, context, and substance to the nation and rakyat’s struggles.
In light of the upcoming Budget 2021, MyCreative is hopeful and ready to champion and deliver the solutions to the issues highlighted in the poll, especially by offering valuable training, upskilling, and expansion of competencies and skill sets during this period of disrupted employment or business activity,” said MyCreative Chairman Mohd Naguib.
“We also hope that the current PENJANA Plan for the Creative Industries can be extended further, especially for sectors we have seen strong numbers applying and strong proposals, particularly music, performing arts, traditional arts & crafts, arthouse films and literature, to continue supporting them,” he added.
Creative practitioners can still seek support for a range of schemes and initiatives under MyCreative such as Digital Marketing and Promotions Grants, Digital Velocity Program, Creative Industry Recovery Grants, CENDANA Recovery Initiatives, Fast Track Soft Loans, Creative Industry Bridging Facility for Content Producers (CBFC), Creative Industry Micro-Financing for Creative Entrepreneurs (CMCE), Creative Industry Business Revival Loan (CBRL), as well as Matching Investment Loan Schemes.
“We understand that it is a difficult time for businesses and individuals, but I hope we can lift the morale and spirit of our creative practitioners that are severely affected by the pandemic and inspire them to get busy again and to seek new opportunities and collaborations, both digitally or online and through the various upskilling programmes MyCreative offers,” he concluded.
