KUCHING, April 25: An application has been submitted to the Sarawak Museum Department to gazette the centuries-old Melanau Muslim longhouse in Kampung Sok, Matu under the Heritage Ordinance, 2019.
With that, Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department (Integrity and Ombudsman) Dato Murshid Diraja Dr Juanda Jaya said the Sarawak government can immediately approve RM20 million worth of conservation works.
“I have urged the villagers to give full cooperation to the government so that this registration can be done immediately under the Heritage Ordinance, 2019.
“The Museum Department has informed the Ministry of Tourism through a meeting that JKR (Public Works Department) completed the estimation of repair costs.
“Once the coastal road is done, this (Kampung Sok) longhouse will be included in the list of tourist places in Sarawak to boost the local economy,” he said during the ‘Jum Berambeh Raya Tang Lebuk Lalo Melanau’ programme at Kampung Sok on Monday (April 24), according to a Sarawak Public Communications Unit (Ukas) report.
Dr Juanda said the longhouse could be registered under Unesco in the future and it could become one of the world’s tourist attractions.
He said the longhouse, which is the last Melanau longhouse standing, is unique and different from other tribal longhouses in Sarawak.
“We hope that the government, through the Museum Department and Tourism Ministry, will immediately carry out conservation efforts due to concerns about the condition of the longhouse which is quite dilapidated.
“It was declared as heritage around 1987, but was never registered under the Heritage Ordinance, 2019,” he added. — DayakDaily
