GEORGE TOWN, July 23 ― The sixth edition of the annual George Town Festival (GTF) may be the last as director Joe Sidek grows increasingly exasperated by the private sector’s lukewarm financial support for the internationally-acclaimed event.

The month-long festival, mooted to celebrate George Town's inscription as a Unesco world heritage site, has become a success that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, yet continues to struggle with raising private sponsorship.

The Penang government allocates RM4 million each year for the event, but Joe explained that this amount cannot cover the costs for entirety of the festival.

To make up for the shortfall needed to pay for manpower, materials, venues, performers and  artists, Joe has had to go to the private sector ― corporations and local companies ― with his hat in his hand each year.

And every year, despite the repeated appeals through the media, the festival faces the same shortage, forcing a mad scramble to ask for sponsorships to make up the difference.

“My family kept asking me why do I do this every year, why do I take this on and worry about funding each year, and it is because I love Penang, I love doing this that I've been doing this every year until now,” he said.

“The state government has done a lot for the festival and we understand that we can't demand for more from the state as its resources are limited, but it is very frustrating to be short of a million or more every year because very few large private corporations came forward to contribute to the festival,” he said.

Joe's contract with the state government to run the festival ends this year, and despite his professed love and an offer to renew, the 56-year-old is undecided.

“The state has asked me to extend the contract and I really want to extend it because I enjoy doing this, but do the people of Penang really want this festival?” he asked.

He added that some people may say that he is “merajuk” (sulking) for not wanting to extend his contract, but insisted this was not true.

“If Penang really want this festival, then they should come forward and fight for this festival to go on; all we need is more sponsorship from the private sector to keep it going,” he said.

The annual festival, though considered “young” compared to other international events, has garnered global accolades and recognition with Joe being invited to numerous countries to talk about GTF.

But this acclaim only adds to Joe’s frustrations.

“Others can see that this is a successful event, so what we want is for our own people to make it theirs, to claim it, to come forward and sponsor it,” he said.

He expressed gratitude for the individual contributions by private individuals, such as a woman who would come by the GTF office with a RM1,000 cheque each year because she felt that the festival is doing great things for the local arts and culture scene.

It was these small contributions that warmed his heart to continue running the festival every year despite not making a single sen from doing this, Joe added.

“I'm not buying big bungalows and driving luxurious cars from doing this every year, in fact, I'm always looking for more funds for the festival, not for me,” he added.

“Some corporations do come forward to sponsor some events and sponsor tickets for the less fortunate, but we need larger corporations to come forward with larger contributions to make up for the shortage each year,” he said.

The annual festival has almost daily events, from performances to exhibitions, most of which are free while international acts are priced to be affordable.

This year, GTF 2015 kicks off on August 1 with a unique performance that focuses on what makes up Penang called “100% Penang” directed by Berlin-based Rimini Protokoll.

It will be a month-long festival of international and local performances as well as exhibitions held at various locations all over the  and including ― for the first time ― Butterworth with the Butterworth Fringe Festival.

Find out more about GTF at georgetownfestival.com.