Borneo Cultural Village for Lambir

0

MIRI: A Borneo Cultural Village has been proposed for Lambir near here to boost the image of Miri as tourist and resort city.

BEAD LOVER: Dr Chan admires a beads necklace at an exhibition booth.

However, a lot of money would be needed to realise the project which would be similar to Sarawak Cultural Village in Kuching, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan yesterday.

Dr Chan, who is also Minister of Tourism and Heritage Sarawak, disclosed this to reporters after officiating at the Borneo International Beads Conference 2010 here.

“We have identified 100 to 200 acres of land in Lambir and it is about 30 minutes’ drive from the city centre. We will be working together with Sarawak Museum on some aspects of the cultural village featuring the cultures and lifestyles of various ethnic and indigenous groups in Borneo,” said Dr Chan. The Orang Ulu community will be among the main features with the beads and woven materials (as part of the culture, traditions and heritage of the community) to  be placed among the proposed exhibits and displays.

There is also a proposal to set up a factory making bead products.

“It would be more interesting and great if we could put it all in. It is under planning as we need a lot of money.” said Dr Chan.

Meanwhile, Dr Chan expressed his disappointment with the look of Miri Handicraft Centre in the city centre.

“At least make it bigger and more presentable to tourists. We have been trying to do a few things to attract tourists and locals to visit it,” he added.

The inaugural Borneo International Beads Conference held at ParkCity Everly Hotel received overwhelming response from both local and international bead experts and enthusiasts with a total of 120 participants, exceeding the 80 expected.

Dr Chan said the good response shows that there is great interest in beads.

“Obviously the exotic name of Borneo attracts a lot of people and the history, culture and heritage that are found in the island are of  great interest to everybody.”

After officiating at the opening of the two-day conference, Dr Chan visited exhibition booths of local and international makers and distributors of bead products.  A distributor from Indonesia caught Dr Chan’s attention.

“The Indonesians are already making replicas of old (antique) beads. In other words, we can do things like heirlooms which tell part of our history and culture. It would be saleable to tourists,” he added.

In this context, he urged local makers of bead  products to be more creative and innovative.

He noted that Indonesians have used modern techniques to improve their creations and copy some of the traditional beads and turn them into items that tourists would find attractive.  Another seminar would be held next year and after that every two years.