According to Malay Mail, the country's National Symphony Orchestra does not have enough funding to hold concerts.

Music director and conductor Datuk Mustafa Fuzer Nawi said, "We have no money to put up concerts. We are the resident artistes here but we can't have regular concerts."

The ensemble currently has 41 full-time members and just held audition where they added an additional 10 musicians, who will join the orchestra next year.

"As long as Malaysians have this mentality of 'Why must we to spend so much on the arts when you can get it for free', things won't change," Mustafa said. "If you don't believe in spending on the arts, you are killing it. Which is why I think the NSO should charge minimally since we aren't that heard of."

The NSO needs at least RM1 million a year for it to have monthly concerts and maintenance.

"The more in-house musicians we have, the less budget we need for concerts as we don't have to spend money hiring guest musicians from around the region," he said.

He said that, to fix the problem, the ministry needs to understand the importance of funding.

"The new government must look into their cultural wealth - these are their treasures," he said.

Read more on Malay Mail.

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