Johor bahru: Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia, has called for secondary school students, particularly those from B40 households, to be exposed to the arts industry as a means of steering them away from social ills.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, in a post shared on the Facebook page of Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, Her Majesty acknowledged the challenges faced by the B40 group and noted that not all of their children are solely inclined towards academic pursuits. 'It would be beneficial to expose them to potential career paths in the arts, which holds great promise,' she stated. Her Majesty aspires to create opportunities that encourage students to develop valuable artistic skills, guided by successful celebrities who can serve as mentors. This initiative, she believes, can reduce the risk of students falling into social problems that could jeopardize their future.

Her Majesty further explained that such efforts would also address mental health issues such as depression and loneliness, while fostering a spirit of unity in supporting those in need. Earlier, Raja Zarith Sofiah held a meeting with a delegation of national arts and culture industry practitioners to discuss a proposal aimed at introducing a programme for exposing B40 secondary school students to the arts industry.

The proposed programme would go beyond traditional in-school arts education by offering real-life exposure to the workings of the industry. This would involve actors, directors, musicians, and other behind-the-scenes figures in a production. Among those present at the meeting were Tengku Sri Kelana D'raja Datuk Seri Raja Rezza Shah Raja Aman Shah, National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage (ASWARA) board of directors member Datuk Syafinaz Selamat, Karyawan president Datuk Freddie Fernandez, SENIMAN president Zed Zaidi, and renowned director Datuk Zahim Albakri.