KUALA LUMPUR, July 2 — Award-winning dancer and choreographer Datuk Ramli Ibrahim expressed his disappointment that the Pakatan Harapan government has yet to outline its policy on arts and culture.
The 65-year-old Indian classical dancer whose career spans over 30 years said he fears the new ruling coalition will repeat the same mistakes as its predecessor, the Barisan Nasional.
“I’ve been watching closely and there is not yet a clear vision of arts and culture in the psyche of the new Malaysia – this is very disappointing,” Ramli told Malay Mail in a recent interview.
He said it was imperative for those in the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture to be passionate about the arts and understand how the industry works.
“We cannot have the most uncultured man to be the culture minister.
“Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz did not have a strong cultural profile and to be honest, a lot of artistes were embarrassed by him and intimidated by his thuggish demeanour,” said Ramli who received India's Padma Shri Award in April.
He added that it was important to prioritise arts and culture in education to enhance Malaysians’ quality of life.
“We need a minister that has experience and credibility in the arts, who knows the practitioners and sympathises with the arts,” Ramli said.
Asked what advice he would give the ministry, Ramli said the arts must be managed at all levels, involving all districts, city councils, right up to the state and federal levels.
Given the large concentration of arts and culture activities in Kuala Lumpur, he said policies put in place must extend to all states in the country.
“We cannot keep on building the carapace and then there’s no content beneath it,” said Ramli.
“I’ve performed in a theatre in Kangar that seats 700 people but there’s nothing inside and no programmes lined up.”
Then there is the issue of funding, or the lack of it to be exact, which is crucial for all arts and culture endeavours to thrive.
He said arts practitioners were fed up with the lack of transparency.
“We have to look at Aswara and Istana Budaya: What have they been doing with the money? The majority of funds were channelled to these organisations and none went to the rest of the artistic community.
“There’s mismanagement happening in so many areas including the arts, which needs proper cleaning up,” Ramli said.
Malay Mail met with the prominent dancer at the Sutra Foundation, Ramli’s organisation that preserves and develops traditional and contemporary performing arts in the country.
The youthful-looking dance guru, who also runs an academy, was preparing for Sutra’s latest project, a collaboration with Universiti Malaya’s cultural centre and the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indian Cultural Centre at the High Commission of India.
The new production, which premieres this Thursday, is called Odissi on High and features Sutra Foundation dancers and five male dancers from the Rudrakshya Foundation in Bhubaneswar.
“It’s technically more difficult than our previous productions Amorous Delight and Ganjam and the five boys we have are superb,” Ramli said.
Odissi on High looks at the pallavi — which means pure dance in Odissi repertoire — of Kelucharan Mohapatra and Deba Prasad Das, two of the four gurus who revived almost extinct dance in the 1940s and 1950s.
“We are looking at the pallavis of these two gurus and how it has evolved, demonstrating modernity in tradition,” he explained.
Guru Bichitrananda Swain whom Ramli shares artistic direction duties with is credited with taking Odissi techniques to its pinnacle.
Unlike other Odissi performances that feature a slower pace, Odissi on High moves away from this tradition.
“Young people will find it riveting because of its fast pace,” said Ramli.
Catch Odissi on High from July 5 to July 8 at 8.30pm, Experimental Theatre, Universiti Malaya.
Tickets are priced at RM30 and RM50, available at sutrafoundation.org.my or call 03-40211092.
