PTVM Proposes Welfare, Retirement System for National Artists
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Television Producers Association (PTVM) has proposed the establishment of a National Artists’ Welfare and Retirement System to provide more structured, sustainable and comprehensive protection to creative industry practitioners.
Its President, Datuk Jurey Latiff Rosli said, the proposal is contained in a memorandum submitted to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim through his Senior Private Secretary in conjunction with the official opening of Menara FINAS yesterday.
He said, the system should include a retirement mechanism or future fund, health protection, housing, social security as well as a safety net when an arts practitioner is no longer able to work.
“We should not wait until an artist falls ill, loses income or lives in hardship before assistance is mobilised in an ad hoc manner. Welfare cannot continue to depend on sympathy, but must be built through a system,” he said in a statement.
Jurey said, creative industry reform must also take into account the business sustainability of production companies, particularly in the television industry which faces rising production costs, increasingly challenging opportunities and rapid changes in business models.
He said, without sustainable production companies, employment opportunities for actors, directors, writers, production crews and thousands of creative talents will also be affected.
“Reform cannot only focus on content and creative freedom, but must encompass the entire economic chain from companies that create jobs to the welfare of individuals in the industry,” he said.
PTVM also welcomed the Prime Minister’s affirmation regarding the need to give more open space to arts practitioners as well as ensuring that support and advocacy are provided to the entire industry ecosystem.
Jurey said, the success of the industry should not be measured solely by the grandeur of its infrastructure, but through its ability to provide employment, income, protection and a more secure future for its practitioners.
BERNAMA