Peoples' Participation in the Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Malaysia: The Legal Perspective

Nurulhuda Adabiah Mustafa ,Nuraisyah Chua Abdullah

doi:10.6007/ijarbss/v11-i11/11473

Abstract

Communities, groups, and individuals (or known as CGIs) are the main focus of the international law on intangible cultural heritage preservation, and the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 focuses on community participation. In Malaysia, Articles 5 and 8 of the Federal Constitution provide a general principle on the rights of people to their livelihood and equality. However, the National Heritage Act [Act645] has no specific provisions on community participation. This paper highlights the international law on safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, including from selected foreign nation-state's legislations. The absence of specific provisions on community participation and the rights of the CGIs under the existing law raises the question of the extent of their participation, particularly in decision-making. The paper concludes with the recommendation that the existing law should be amended to include more comprehensive provisions on community participation.

Highlights

IntroductionThe role of the people, i.e. communities, groups, and individuals (or known as CGIs) are essential in the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) as illustrated in two main international norms i.e. the 2005 Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (the 2005 Convention) and the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (the 2003 ICH Convention)
The role of the people, i.e. communities, groups, and individuals are essential in the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) as illustrated in two main international norms i.e. the 2005 Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
This paper examines the Federal Constitution which provide general principles on the rights of people and the National Heritage Act (Act 645), i.e. the general law for the preservation of ICH in Malaysia

Summary

Introduction

The role of the people, i.e. communities, groups, and individuals (or known as CGIs) are essential in the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) as illustrated in two main international norms i.e. the 2005 Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (the 2005 Convention) and the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (the 2003 ICH Convention). These international laws have been the sources of benchmarking by national legislators to create laws on ICH preservation and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals 2030. A comparative study with selected foreign legislations is made for benchmarking purposes

Objectives

Results

Conclusion