They say a prophet is never recognized in his or her own country, and if that country is Malaysia, a country so desperate for international validation that it's taken to dropping cars in the south pole, then they may just be right. While our countrymen and women try to shampoo their way into notoriety, Malaysian creativity is finding favour on stages and in galleries around the world, with nary an entry into the Malaysian Book of Records.

Don’t believe us? Just ask The Melbourne International Arts Festival, The Singapore International Arts Festival, The New York International Fringe Festival, CULTURESHOCK, the Commonwealth Games Cultural Festival in Manchester, The Gwangju International Biennale, ArtsSpace in Cape Town, and The Majestic Theatre in Shanghai. Each of these international festivals and venues hosted Malaysian artists in 2002.

Siddartha, a musical extravaganza conceived and produced by Malaysians performed in Singapore and South Africa, including the prestigious ArtsSpace (formerly the Nico Malan Theatre) in Cape Town to positive reviews. The tour did not receive any Government funding. An application to stage it at Istana Budaya was apparently rejected on the grounds that the subject matter was too religious.

Krishen Jit is such a hot commodity in Singapore that he may be the next thing they claim as their own. His direction of Ivan Heng in Stella Kon's Emily of Emerald Hill played to rave reviews in the Melbourne Arts Festival in October 2002, while Manchester United & The Malay Warrior, also directed by Jit was staged in Manchester during the Commonwealth Games Cultural Festival.

Youth Group Akshen! took their play Stadium to the youth theatre component of the same festival, prompting the Artistic Director, Noel Greig to say that their work displayed, "A physical energy that matched the urgency of the questions being asked".

The Singapore Arts Festival and the National Arts Council commissioned a play from Huzir Sulaiman, investing considerable time, money and administrative support into the Premiere of Occupation in the middle of 2002. The play received positive reviews in Singapore, but without the kind of financial support it received in Singapore, Malaysian audiences will have to wait indefinitely for a local staging.

Jo Kukathas's solo performance of Shahimah's Idris's play From Table Mountain to Teluk Intan at the New York International Fringe Festival received glowing reviews in a town that is hard to impress.

As for Dama's Shanghai tour, well… it adds a whole new twist to the notion of selling coal to Newcastle! The Chinese diaspora strikes back, and at the epicentre of the sophisticated new China, no less.

This year, Sutra Dance embarks on an ambitious tour of India, and Kuali Work's production of Table Mountain has received invitations to South Africa, Adelaide, Melbourne and Canberra. Dramalab will stage Jit Murad's Spilt Gravy on Rice at the Singapore Rep Theatre this week. Wong Hoy Cheong has been given the honour of an invitation to the Venice Biennale, the grande dame of art shows, while Mavin Khoo has been appointed the 2003 Artist in Residence at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. And that's just for starters.

What is amazing about this outward flow of creativity is that these tours received limited funding from local organizations, while government agencies, a majority of local audiences and various corporate sponsors collectively spent millions importing large scale productions such as Chang and Eng. Granted, musical extravaganzas the world over have the advantage over the smaller, more edgy works produced by local groups when it comes to funding. There will always be a market for funky, fun musicals such as Fame, and even for Filipino bands that sing Beautiful Maria in perfect Spanish. Bring them on, we say.

To argue that Malaysians must only be offered "Made in Malaysia" arts is to promote insularity. Good art is good art, no matter where it comes from. The Japan Foundation's production of Dumb Type last year was phenomenal: just watching the dancers on stage awakened creativity more than all the tired workshops sometimes organized to legitimize the claims of "cultural exchange".

But the fact remains that, unlike most emerging local industries which enjoy growth incentives, the local arts industry receives very little funds. It has to contend with an uneven playing field, plus a referee, fans and sponsors all enamored with the notion of "international standards". And as the Siddartha case shows, the goal posts can shift even if all the elements of a winning team are there. In the eyes of some individuals and organizations in the country, the local arts scene just does not make the cut.

There are of course, enlightened corporate sponsors, as well as members of government who understand that supporting the arts brings real benefits. It’s advertising without the harsh edge of hard sell, it enlightens minds without the cost of a foreign degree, it promotes national identity without garish metal trees that light up and it creates an international profile without trying to reach ridiculous heights.

All those internationally renowned festivals and arts venues keep throwing invites at our artists. When will they receive the same treatment at home?