Regional Zapin Heritage Bid Could Lift Southeast Asia’s Cultural Economy

Singapore, 24 September 2026 – Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia plan a joint nomination of the Malay performing art zapin for UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list by March 2027. The bid is a cultural-preservation effort, not a commercial development agreement. Yet it could bring fresh attention to the networks of performers, teachers, costume makers, event organisers and heritage venues that sustain the art across Southeast Asia.

Zapin is practised in several forms across the region, with dance and music passed between communities through formal teaching and social occasions. Singapore’s National Heritage Board has pointed to long-running regional collaborations and festivals as evidence that the form is living heritage rather than a static museum object. A multinational application would recognise shared roots while allowing each country to describe its own practitioners and local variations.