Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg (centre) doing the traditional Asean handshake with sociocultural ministers from the region at the opening ceremony of the 33rd ASCC council meeting in Kuching. - ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/The Star
KUCHING: Arts and cultural heritage can boost sustainable development in Asean in tandem with economic growth, says Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
The Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister said there was "immense potential" for Asean to grow through investment in arts and culture-based tourism.
"Arts and cultural tourism has emerged as one of the most promising avenues for driving inclusive growth, creating jobs, empowering local communities and preserving rich traditions.
"From ancient crafts to contemporary art, from indigenous festivals to culinary legacies, our cultural assets are living expressions of our identity and shared history," he said at the opening ceremony of the 33rd Asean Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) council meeting here on Thursday (April 24).
Tiong said the region could offer the world an Asean experience rooted in authenticity and unity in diversity.
To achieve this, he called on Asean member countries to collaborate in curating immersive arts and cultural experiences for visitors and to integrate storytelling into their tourism strategies.
"Together, let us champion a tourism model that not only attracts visitors but also uplifts the soul of our nations and sustains our arts and cultural legacies for generations to come," he said.
The ASCC council meeting is a scheduled ministerial-level meeting organised twice a year to discuss key socio-cultural issues in Asean.
Meanwhile, Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg said the state was keen to contribute to Asean's development, particularly in power supply.
He said Sarawak's power generation was targeted to reach 10GW in 2030 and 15GW by 2035.
"Our Prime Minister has said that Sarawak can contribute to the Asean power grid.
"At the moment, we are supplying power to our neighbour Indonesia and sister state Sabah.
"Now we are working with Brunei and Singapore to supply energy to them," he said in his keynote address at the opening ceremony.
Abang Johari said Sarawak was also developing a hydrogen economy to support its renewable energy agenda.
"Our public transport, now under implementation, will use an autonomous rapid transit system fuelled by hydrogen.
"This is one of the areas that I believe Asean is looking into," he added.
