Discuss the causes of the decline as well as the steps to improve the situation. You should write at least 350 words.
Have you ever witnessed a Chingay parade? Participated in a highly entertaining match of congkak? Or perhaps watched a performance of the Sumazau dance? Malaysia, a nation rich in the diversity of cultures, offers us more than just those mentioned above. For us lucky citizens, we have pretty much been exposed to the variety of cultures around us since young; engulfing our lives with enriching experiences and fulfilling entertainment. If we explore the depths of our cultures thoroughly, we will see how resplendent values such as determination and innovation transformed the lives of our forefathers. Alas, what we get to enjoy now may not be available for our future generations. The reason? The decline in traditional entertainment among our community in recent years.
There is no point in pointing fingers at each other with regards to this trend that is slowly diminishing the traditional entertainment from our lives. The most effective way to correct this landslide of popularity in traditional entertainment in our lives is by examining its cause and coming up with effective solutions to amend our mistakes of the past. It cannot be denied that the decrease in exposure of our cultures within the society among adults and youths is one of the main factors that accelerate our disregard towards the arts passed down from our forefathers’ era, decades or even centuries ago. Nowadays, the ancient knowledge created by our forefathers to amuse themselves in the boring old days without television and internet is in danger of being lost forever. Thus, it is of utmost importance for us to preserve the techniques and skills so as not to lose the arts we have been entrusted to by the older generations.
As we are aware, young minds nowadays are being corrupted by the hectic city lifestyle – all emphasis is being directed on scoring high grades in examinations. Following that, parents are sending their children for extra classes in addition to the strenuous school life and the young minds are exhausted at the end of the day. So how are they to participate in other activities when their minds are burnt out and their bodies weary? The government has to look into the education system and come up with a plan to cultivate all-rounded students, not only students who are able to memorize facts and formulae. In this context, bringing in traditional entertainment into the school extra-curricular syllabus would be celebrated as a brilliant move, killing two birds with one stone, by the government as it would ensure the students are being exposed to our cultures at a young age besides bringing up students who are able to think creatively and dynamically.
Next, we have to understand that the mass media plays a pivotal role in our lives. Everything is getting easier and easier in this era of science and technology. We can search for information by just a click of a button. Therefore, it can be concurred that to address this current issue, the mass media plays an important role. Events regarding traditional entertainment such as competitions should be given wide coverage by the press. For example, newspapers should publish news on large-scale happenings concerning traditional entertainment. It is no doubt that through the mass media, more people will be exposed to traditional entertainment and their interest in it built up. Publicity is an important aspect to excite one’s interest in an issue and with the correct amount of publicity, it is certain that traditional entertainment will be enjoyed by more people.
In addition to that, the mindset of the people is another major issue. These days, people would rather become slaves over illusory assets to be bothered with traditional activities. In order to obtain fame and riches, they work, work and do more work. Hence, they feel that it is a hassle to go for ‘silat’ classes because working out on a treadmill machine for ten minutes makes them yield the same amount of benefit. Furthermore, teenagers now are addicted to computer games such as Defense of the Ancients (DotA) and Maple Story and would choose to spend hours of their time in front of the computer screen rather than to play a game of Chinese Chess. Thus, parents have to instill the belief in the mindset of their children that they should at least participate and possess the basic knowledge in traditional activities so as to be able to pass them down to the next generation.
It is obvious that the condition of the issue on hand is pretty bad. However, it can still be improved if drastic action is taken fast. Thus, to ameliorate the situation, we would have to look at all aspects regarding the issue on hand objectively. In a country rich in cultures and diversity, we have to preserve our traditional entertainment so as not to allow the efforts of our forefathers go to waste. Moreover, we should be aware and equipped with the knowledge for us to remember our roots as every culture and tradition is unique in its own way. Let us sustain and safeguard our traditions; and contribute to the building of a spectacular 1Malaysia.
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