SHAH ALAM, Sept 24 — The CRE8Fund competition held in conjunction with the Selangor Creative Economy Expo 2025 (SCEE25) should be expanded so that more creative practitioners can benefit.
Media platform Zingy TV's founder Zulkifly Amirudin said the competition, which offers cash prizes, enables players in the orange economy to advance their work.
“When the Selangor government organises programmes like this, it supports creative industry players beyond just digital elements. The prizes inject capital for the development of their companies and products, and this will produce better outcomes.
“I truly hope this programme continues so that more industry players can take part. It will help create a stronger ecosystem,” he said.
Earlier, Zulkifly was announced as the inaugural edition’s grand prize winner, defeating nine other participants and walking away with RM20,000 in cash.
The prize was presented by the Raja Muda of Selangor Tengku Amir Shah during SCEE25's closing ceremony at the MBSA Convention Centre today.
Meanwhile, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan lecturer Hafiz Drahman, who won second place, said CRE8Fund became a platform for him to showcase Selangor Batik heritage to the younger generation.
The Subang Jaya native said the mastery of modern and advanced technology has caused cultural production to erode.
“So I took the opportunity to merge digitalisation into the making of batik, and I see great potential for this in Selangor. This programme is an opportunity provided by the state government.
"I joined and presented my work to the judges, and Alhamdulillah (God be praised), they appreciated my effort,” he said, taking home RM15,000 in cash.
SCEE25 serves as a platform to elevate Selangor as a regional creative hub with a gross domestic product (GDP) target of RM20 billion by 2035.
Over its two-day run, the programme, co-organised with the Selangor Youth Community, highlighted six key drivers covering talent development, market access, and financing.
Also emphasised under the theme 'Re:Imagine Selangor — Creativity is the New Economy' were infrastructure readiness, digital empowerment, and strong governance.
