Johor Bharu, 26 June 2011 – Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD) today confirmed its support for the 8th JB Arts Festival 2011 with a contribution of RM75,000. YSD Chief Executive Officer, Yatela Zainal Abidin handed over a mock cheque to the Patron of Johor Society for the Performing Arts (JSPA), YB Dato’ Seri Utama Shahrir bin Abdul Samad at a press conference held in Johor Bharu.

The sponsorship will help JSPA to organise the 8th JB Arts Festival 2011 to be held in Bukit Timbalan. It is the only large scale arts festival in Malaysia that showcases a wide range of performing arts, both modern and traditional. The festival aims to promote the Malaysian art scene and cultivates an appreciation and awareness of creative culture in youth. 

The sponsorship of this festival is aligned with YSD’s Arts and Culture pillar which endeavours the development of a vibrant arts community in Malaysia’s multi-cultural society, consisting of the visual arts, music, theatre, cinema and dance. 

The eclectic JB Arts Festival, snowballs into all of these, and thus, YSD is delighted to be able to contribute to such a visionary tap into the artistry and culture of Malaysian society. Last year, YSD contributed RM50,000 to the 7th JB Arts Festival 2010. 

This ambitious and gallant broadcast for the Johor performing arts field initiated by JSPA in 2004, has been growing bigger and bolder each year. In 2011, JSPA aspires to draw interest from more of the younger generation by hyping up the modern performing arts appeal during the three week programme from 1 to 24 July 2011. 

This year, JSPA plans to bring diversity to the performances by including popular contemporary shows as well as back to basics traditional ones. Visitors can expect to be treated to a colourful palette ranging from a rave concert by top disc jockeys (DJs) and a ‘Drift’ demonstration, to classical music and the intriguing art of Silat and Wau making. There will also be a programme called Empathy as a tribute to the Japan tsunami victims. 

In addition, the Connecting Communities National Dance Tour, a collaboration between YSD and the Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan (ASWARA), will be showcased at the festival on 24 July 2011. This year-long tour will showcase Malay, Chinese and Indian traditional and contemporary dance concerts as well as workshops for each of the genre at various states in Malaysia. This initiative is YSD’s commitment to promote a better appreciation and understanding of cultures through dance, with hope that these dances will have a chance to survive the modern times through the practice by professional dancers and appreciation of the public.