By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, Feb 14: The Brooke Dockyard Industrial Heritage Museum will be among the new museums and galleries in Sarawak to be opened to visitors this year.
Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts (MTCP) Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the list included Santubong Archaeological Park, Wallace Centre, Limbang Museum and Rumah Sri Aman Gallery.
“Meanwhile, among the 14 projects under the Sarawak Museum Department, six are to conserve and upgrade Fort Emma, ​​Fort Brooke, Fort Lili, Fort Hose, Fort Sylvia and Fort Arundell.
“In addition, content development for the old building of the Sarawak Museum is underway. In the meantime, the department will also open the old Sarawak Museum building for tours starting March,” he said during the Sarawak Museum Department appreciation night at Pullman Hotel here earlier tonight.
At the same time, he informed that the Borneo Cultures Museum (BCM), which is the biggest in Malaysia and second biggest museum in Southeast Asia, since its opening on March 9, 2022, has recorded a total of 600,165 visitors as of Feb 13, 2023.
The iconic museum also displayed two keringkam belonging to Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.
Last year, BCM was awarded the Malaysia Tourism Council Gold Award for Museum of the Year (2022).
Apart from BCM, two museums nearby namely the Islamic Heritage Museum and the Natural History Museum, are open to visitors.
Meanwhile, the Sultan Tengah Mausoleum located in Santubong, has reopened to visitors effective Feb 1 this year.
In addition, from the period of 2022 until February this year, other museums in Sarawak excluding BCM recorded a total of 171,643 visitors.
He also said Sarawak Museum Department is moving towards establishing e-jurnal with ongoing work to obtain Journal Management System with the cooperation from Sarawak Service Modernisation Unit and Sarawak Information System Sdn Bhd (SAINS).
The same night also witnessed Abdul Karim launched eight-book series resulted from research of the Sarawak Museum Department curator together with external researchers.
Abdul Karim also mentioned that the national-level International Museum Day would be held in Kuching, Sarawak, sometime in July with the theme “Museums, Sustainability and Well-being.”
Amongst those present were Deputy Minister of Tourism Datuk Sebastian Ting; Deputy Minister of Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Snowdan Lawan; MTCP’s permanent secretary Datu Sherrina Hussaini; Deputy Sarawak Secretary (Operation) Datu Hii Chang Kee who is the former MTCP’s permanent secretary; Malaysian Museum Department director-general Datuk Kamarul Baharin A. Kasim and Sarawak Museum Department director Nancy Jolhi. — DayakDaily
