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- Ipoi (second from left) briefs Adenan (third from right) on a collection of pots, while Lee (second from right), Rosey and others look on. — Photos by Chimon Upon
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- A visitor peruses the collage of photographs depicting the people of Sarawak.
KUCHING: Sarawak welcomes international scholars and experts to help annotate collections in the Sarawak Museum Department that go back more than half a century.
Speaking at a press conference at the Sarawak Arts Museum, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem said the state needed professional assistance in this area to ensure all collections were authentic and could be exhibited.
“It’s probably because we don’t have enough manpower. We hope to proceed with the annotation. We welcome international scholars and local experts to help us,” the chief minister said after touring the department’s new exhibit ‘Urang Sarawak: An exhibition about US’.
Adenan pointed out that Sarawak had collections that were more than 50 years old, including the butterfly collections of British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist Alfred Russel Wallace.
Presently, the museum is working with experts from the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and America, as well as those from local universities such as Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Pulau Pinang.
The Sarawak Museum is one of the oldest museums in South East Asia: it was established in 1886, thus making it 130 years old.
Adenan congratulated the museum on their ‘Urang Sarawak’ exhibition.
“It has opened our eyes to the history, demography, culture, archaeology and cultural life of Sarawak, not only now but as it was in years gone by.”
Also present were Assistant Tourism Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin, who was representing Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, Assistant Minister of Solidarity Rosey Yunus, Urbanisation Assistant Minister Datuk Talib Zulpilip, and Sarawak Museum Department director Ipoi Datan.
‘Urang Sarawak’ is a fresh new exhibition that takes visitors on a walk through the ethnic heritage and culture found in Sarawak. It features audio-visual delivery and interactive touch screens.
Housed in the Sarawak Arts Museum, this semi-permanent exhibit will be updated with new items periodically.
Entry to ‘Urang Sarawak’ is free. The museum is open from 9am to 4.30pm on weekdays and from 10am to 4pm on weekends or public holidays.