KUCHING: The state government will consider the idea to set up a council for arts and literature. However, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said currently, the state government did not see the need for this as all related matters were under the Sarawak Arts Council (MSS).
“Well, we have MSS that encompasses all areas concerning arts, including literature,” he told a press conference held after the closing ceremony of the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region workshop at Sarawak Cultural Village’s auditorium here yesterday.
However, Abdul Karim said the idea to set up a separate council’s entity, specifically for arts and literature, would be necessary in facilitating the MSS.
“If there’s a real need to set up another separate entity just to focus on arts and literature, I am quite supportive.
“Arts has many areas and there are so many issues that MSS has to handle. Setting up a separate council for literature might be a handful for MSS,” he added.
On Oct 19, Persatuan Karyawan Sastera Sarawak proposed the setting up of an Arts and Literature Council.
