Perak Cultural Festival boosts state's arts, heritage, and tourism

The Perak Cultural Festival 2026, which concluded recently, has effectively showcased the state's rich arts, heritage, and tourism offerings by highlighting its diverse ethnic tapestry. Under the slogan ‘Ate, Moh Leraih!’ (roughly translated as 'Come, Let's Go!'), the high-impact event featured a variety of programs reflecting the artistic, cultural, and heritage elements that define Perak's multicultural identity. The festival drew an impressive crowd of 65,000 visitors, yielding a return on investment (ROI) of RM500,000 and an estimated public relations value of RM800,000.

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The organization of the Perak Cultural Festival 2026 turned out to be an effective medium for elevating the beauty of the state's art, heritage, and tourism through ethnic and racial diversity.

Datuk Mohd. Yusri Mohd. Yusoff, Deputy Secretary General (Culture) at the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (MOTAC), noted that this event is the sixth in a series of 15 cultural tourism programs planned by the National Department for Arts and Culture (JKKN) for the year. He stated that the festival strongly supports the Visit Malaysia Year 2026 (TMM 2026) campaign by positioning the unique local arts, culture, and heritage as high-value tourism assets. The program's content, including captivating performances, cultural showcases, a traditional food festival ('Pesta Moh Makan'), folk sports, talent scouting events, and sales of local art products, provided a meaningful experience for attendees.

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This organization is in line with supporting the aspirations of the Visit Malaysia Year 2026 (TMM 2026) campaign by positioning the uniqueness of local arts, culture, and heritage as high-value assets and attractions.

Mohd. Yusri made these remarks at the official opening ceremony held at Dataran Udang Galah in Teluk Intan, which was attended by over 1,000 visitors and featured mesmerizing performances. Festival-goers and participants also engaged in activities such as traditional fishing net (bubu) dance competitions, state-level 'senam seni 2.0' exercises, poetry recitations, face painting, mobile photography, Jawi calligraphy, and diabolo demonstrations. The event was also attended by Perak's State Executive Councillor for Housing and Local Government, Sandrea Ng Shy Ching, MOTAC Deputy Secretary General (Management) Datuk S. Surrendren, and JKKN Director-General Mohd. Amran Mohd. Haris.

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The slogan ‘Ate, Moh Leraih!’ is very close to how the people of Perak speak, as it carries an invitation for the public to come in droves, witness the content provided, and experience the cultural experiences displayed throughout the festival.

Sandrea Ng, representing the Menteri Besar of Perak, Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad, highlighted that the Perak Cultural Festival, now in its fifth year since its inception in 2022, continues to grow as a platform uniting the state's diverse arts, customs, culinary traditions, traditional games, and heritage. She emphasized that the slogan ‘Ate, Moh Leraih!’ resonates deeply with the Perakian dialect, serving as an invitation for people to attend, witness the offerings, and experience the culture showcased. Mohd. Amran added that cultural heritage endures when practiced, performed, learned by the youth, and understood by audiences for the stories behind it.

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Cultural heritage will continue to endure when there are people who practice it, performers who present it, young generations who learn it, and audiences who understand the values and stories behind it.