Efforts to reform creative industry will continue, says Fahmi

KUALA LUMPUR: Efforts to reform the creative industry will continue, said Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil.

In a post on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) on Sunday (Oct 15), he stated that some views from arts practitioners have been reflected through Budget 2024, marking the beginning of the desired changes.

To support his statement, Fahmi included a newspaper article titled ‘Inisiatif Belanjawan 2024 rancak peluang pekerjaan’ (Budget 2024 initiative boosts job opportunities), where the Seniman president, Rozaidi Abdul Jamil or Zed Zaidi, thanked Fahmi and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for listening to and implementing everything proposed by arts activists.

“This is the best outcome we have achieved so far after presenting our concerns to various ministers previously,” Zed Zaidi said.

Fahmi acknowledged that Zed Zaidi initially criticized him when he was appointed as the Communications and Digital Minister.

“However, during the townhall session that took place soon after my appointment, I had the opportunity to directly hear the views and challenges of arts practitioners, including those expressed by Zed,” Fahmi explained.

On March 16, the arts industry raised concerns to Fahmi about the excessive 25% entertainment tax.

“I assured them that I would discuss this matter with the Finance Ministry,” Fahmi stated.

On Friday (Oct 13), Finance Minister Anwar announced the reduction of entertainment tax to 10% for international artistes and full exemption for local artistes.

Fahmi shared that during his 10-month tenure at the Communications and Digital Ministry, he received various suggestions and became aware of different challenges.

“It is not easy to fulfill all requests, but I am committed to starting the process. Thankfully, the demands of the arts industry have now been met, as entertainment duty is exempted for performances by local artistes,” Fahmi declared.

“With the responsibility bestowed upon me, I will continue to address the industry’s issues one by one,” he added. – Bernama