Kuala Lumpur city hall is urging street performers to move away from playing mainstream pop covers and instead showcase Malaysia’s rich traditional and folk music. It is part of a bid to enhance the city’s cultural experience for visitors and promote Malaysia’s heritage in preparation for the Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) tourism campaign.
Amid a target of 35.6 million visitors and RM147.1 billion (US$33.2 billion) in tourist receipts, the government is working to position Malaysia as a top destination. With competition in the tourist industry becoming increasingly intense, Malaysia is seeking to promote its cultural self—somewhat along the lines of Thailand’s projection of 38 million visitors this year spurred partly by its promotion of the traditional arts and “soft power.”
Kuala Lumpur’s busking scene is known for its diverse range of performers, from grunge-era singer-songwriters to Michael Jackson impersonators. Interestingly enough, even viral sensation Muhammad Shahid Nazir, aka the “One Pound Fish Man,” performed on the city’s streets, adding to its vibrancy.
But Federal Territories Minister Zaliha Mustafa believes buskers must do more than sing popular Malay jiwang ballads and pop songs. She is urging greater incorporation of traditional elements such as ghazal singing and gamelan music to enable tourists to appreciate Malaysia’s cultural heritage.
“Buskers must also behave professionally—dressing properly and entertaining crowds courteously,” Zaliha told Parliament on Thursday.
One of Kuala Lumpur’s popular street performers, an 1980s Michael Jackson-styled singer, is a regular entertainer in Bukit Bintang with his trademark curly mullet, white shoes, and dance moves. It is yet to be seen how local buskers will react to the promotion of traditional music, but officials are sure that visitors will welcome the change.
Classical Malay music has deep historical roots—ghazal, romantic Arabic poetry sung to the tune, became popular in Malaysia in the early 20th century, particularly in Johor. The Malay gamelan, adapted from Java, is made up of small gongs and other instruments that create a melodious, harmonious sound.
There are currently 374 licensed buskers who perform at 16 locations around Kuala Lumpur. As part of the new program, city hall will also introduce workshops for street musicians on how to improve their musical quality, promote themselves, and comply with rules and regulations before permitting them to renew their licenses.
We want buskers to be a unique artistic feature of Kuala Lumpur, making it a cultural hub by Visit Malaysia Year 2026,” said Zaliha.
