Category Archives: Culture

Malaysia Joins Four-Nation Bid to Put Zapin on UNESCO’s Heritage List

On 24 September 2026, Malaysia’s Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (MOTAC) announced that the country will join Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore in a multinational nomination of zapin for UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. For anyone following cultural cooperation in Southeast Asia, it is a useful case study in how heritage […]

Malaysia and China Open Talks on Protecting Maritime Silk Road Heritage

Malaysia’s long history as a stop on the Maritime Silk Road may soon become the basis for a new chapter in Malaysia-China cultural exchange. Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing announced on 18 October 2026 that China has invited Malaysia to take part in cooperation on protecting Maritime Silk Road heritage, according to […]

Melaka to Host Cultural Exchange Festival Celebrating Cross-Cultural Heritage

Melaka will host a three-day Cultural Exchange Festival from 31 October to 2 November 2026 in Banda Hilir. The programme is titled “Celebrating Cross-Cultural Heritage”. It is organised by the National Heritage Department, with the Melaka Tourism Promotion Division involved. Melaka is providing the logistics and venues. The festival adds to the calendar of Malaysia-China […]

Lanterns, Mooncakes and Living Heritage: What Penang’s Mid-Autumn Festival 2026 Teaches Us

Today, 25 September 2026, is the 15th day of the eighth lunar month: Mid-Autumn Festival. Across Malaysia, families are gathering under the full moon with lanterns and mooncakes. Earlier this week, one of the country’s liveliest community celebrations showed why the festival still matters. A festival built by the community The Penang Mid-Autumn Festival 2026, […]

When Traditional Music Meets AI: Malaysian and Chinese Musicians Share the Craft

Speakers at the Tian Hua Qi Yin: When Traditional Music Meets AI cross-border music sharing session co-organised by MCCEA in Petaling Jaya

Artificial intelligence has arrived in the recording studio, and the question facing musicians is no longer whether to use it but what it can and cannot do. That was the premise of “Tian Hua Qi Yin: When Traditional Music Meets AI”, a cross-border music sharing session held in Petaling Jaya and co-organised by the Malaysia-China […]

Mid-Autumn Festival 2026: Malaysia’s Lantern Season as Living Heritage

Next Friday, 25 September 2026, lanterns will go up in shophouse five-foot ways, temple courtyards and shopping malls from George Town to Kuching. The Mid-Autumn Festival — known to most Malaysians simply as the Mooncake Festival — is not a public holiday here, yet it remains one of the most visible cultural observances on the […]

Sibu’s Borneo Cultural Festival 2026: Where Heritage Becomes a Bridge to China

Every September, Dataran Tun Tuanku Bujang in Sibu, Sarawak turns into one of Malaysia’s most quietly remarkable cultural gatherings. The 22nd Borneo Cultural Festival (BCF), themed “Echoes of Borneo,” is running there now — originally scheduled for 3 to 12 September, then pushed back two days to 5 to 14 September after haze settled over […]

Two Festivals in Borneo Show How Culture Builds the Malaysia-China Bridge

September has turned East Malaysia into a showcase for what cultural programming can do. Two events running almost back to back — one in Sarawak, one in Sabah — offer a useful reminder that Malaysia-China cultural exchange is not something imported for special occasions. It is already woven into how Malaysians celebrate together. In Sibu, […]