The Nyonya kebaya is jointly nominated by Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.Workshops involving stakeholders have been held to prepare nomination documents for lion dance (below) and chingay. — Filepic
PENANG has nominated the Nyonya kebaya attire, chingay procession, and lion dance to be listed among the Unesco Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
State tourism and creative economy committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said the traditional kebaya was jointly nominated by Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand last year.
“This nomination is currently under evaluation by Unesco,” he said at the Penang state legislative assembly.
He added that the National Heritage Department had organised a series of workshops involving various stakeholders to prepare the nomination documents for chingay (Malaysia and Singapore) and lion dance (Malaysia and China).
Hon Wai was responding to a question from Wong Yuee Harng (PH-Pengkalan Kota) regarding the state’s efforts to elevate intangible cultural heritage for global recognition.
“The state has supported kebaya exhibitions and organises the annual international lion dance-on-stilts competition in Kepala Batas.
“We also hold annual chingay parades in George Town and Butterworth,” added Hon Wai.
