Intangible Cultural Heritage lessons
Published on: Wednesday, September 18, 2024
By: David Thien
Yeh (centre) and Chan at the front row of dignitaries.
Kota Kinabalu: Some 400 Sabah students will benefit from Intangible Cultural Heritage lessons to be taught by 14 teachers from Tianjin, China. It is an annual cultural exchange programme called “Chinese Cultural School Holiday Programme” at the Kian Kok Middle School from Sept 13 to 23.
Intangible Cultural Heritage means practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills as well as the instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces associated therewith that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognised as part of their unique cultural heritage and skills.
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The 400 students would learn martial arts, dance, crafts, painting, calligraphy, songs, recitation, Chinese drums, traditional Chinese musical instruments like “erhu”, and “kuaiban” which is a traditional Chinese form of storytelling, according to Camp team leader Feng YuanYuan, who is also Tianjin Overseas Friendship Association executive director.
Federal Plantation and Commodities Deputy Minister Datuk Chan Foong Hin officiated the event at the Kian Kok Middle School Hall on Sunday.
He lauded the close relationship between Malaysia and China including people-to-people ties, business developments and cultural exchanges, and hoped China would increase its purchase of Malaysia’s palm oil. Malaysia also shipped the first cargo of durians by air to China recently.
Chan thanked the organisers, teachers, participants, Sabah-Malaysia China Friendship Association, Kian Kok School and its Board of Governors, KK Hokkien Association for the programme.
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The event is supported by the Sabah Government and the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Kota Kinabalu which was represented at the function by its Deputy Consul General Ouyang HuiFeng.
Chan said the Government welcomes all foreign countries that wish to share their Intangible Cultural Heritage knowledge with Malaysians, including the United States and Britain.
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In his speech, Chairman of the Kian Kok Middle School, and Honorary President of the Sabah-Malaysia China Friendship Association, Datuk Clement Yeh Chang, JP, said, “Education is not just about transmitting knowledge; it is also about preserving culture and values.
It is through events like this, we help our students better understand Chinese culture and lay the groundwork for future cooperation and development between Malaysia and China.
“I am hopeful that the cultural exchanges between our two countries will become even closer and our friendship will grow even more vital, paving the way for an even brighter future for the next generation,” he said. Yeh noted this year marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China.
Over the past 50 years, cooperation and exchanges between our two countries in various fields have deepened, with cultural exchange being a crucial part of this,” Yeh said.
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