Kuala lumpur: The Elite 24 Festive Drums Competition will be included in the Education Ministry’s (MOE) official calendar as an annual event beginning next year. Deputy Minister Wong Kah Woh announced that the competition will be organized at district, zonal, and national levels, with the finals expected to be held in September.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the move aims to strengthen and promote Malaysia’s cultural and artistic heritage in a more systematic and holistic manner, as the 24 Festive Drums has now gained international recognition. Wong emphasized the importance of participation from schools with students of diverse backgrounds and encouraged schools with potential to form their own teams.

Wong highlighted that to date, 341 schools nationwide have active 24 Festival Drums teams, involving more than 65,000 students. This traditional Chinese performance art was first introduced in 1988. He also mentioned that an allocation of RM100,000 has been provided to 10 schools, including primary, secondary, Chinese, and Tamil national-type schools, to establish and strengthen their respective teams.