“We will try (to permit Mak Yong performances). The special committee will check to see if the Mak Yong shows comply with shariah requirements”, said State Unity, Culture, Heritage and Tourism Committee chairman Major (Rtd) Md Anizam Abdul Rahman.

We will then decide whether to allow the Mak Yong shows. At the moment, no Mak Yong performance is allowed in the state but the committee is in the final stages of assessing the matter. Wayang Kulit has long been allowed (to be performed in Kelantan),” he told reporters after attending the state executive council meeting, at the Kota Darul Naim Complex here, today.

Yesterday, a United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur called on the Kelantan state government to lift the ban on the Mak Yong, wayang kulit and other traditional artistic Malay art forms for the sake of continuity and preservation of cultural heritage.

Karima Bennounce, who is UN’s special rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, said it will be a shame if these art forms were left to die, for with its death, Malaysians especially the Kelantanese would lose a part of their culture.