Sarawak Tourism Ministry to assist Lau King Howe Hospital Memorial Museum – Karim

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Lau (fourth left) briefs Abdul Karim (second right) on the old buildings of the Lau King Howe Hospital while Hii (third left), Ting (right) and others look on.

SIBU (May 8): Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said his ministry is prepared to assist in whatever capacity to make Lau King Howe Hospital Memorial Museum a tourist attraction in Sibu.

Karim said that the museum which is one of its kind in the nation is very much a part of the lives of people of Sibu as many were born in that hospital before the facilities ceased its service in 1994.

Thus, he believed that it is nostalgic for the people of Sibu and it is proper that this place should be preserved and developed.

“I am very happy that they preserved a lot of things inside here, even though to some members of the public, it might not mean a thing when you see all these.

“But, there are histories to all those equipment and you do not see them in other places,” he told reporters during this visit to the museum today.

Though the place is being well-kept, he said there are certain things that needed to be improved such as write-ups for each item.

Abdul Karim who visited the museum for the first time said that he is amazed by the things that had been kept inside the museum.

It was as if, he said a walk down a memory lane on how medical is being practiced in the hospital in the olden days.

“When you see a museum, normally, the kind of thing you expect to see are old things; skeletons or mummified things, but I had never been to a hospital museum.

“So, when I came down here just now and to see the kind of machines being used in the 30s, 40s, 50s or 60s; those things, you do not use anymore.

“It is something new that I had learned down here. I am very thankful for giving me very informative briefing in my visit down here,” he said.

Thus, he hoped that the state could be of help in any capacity to make sure the museum can be another place for tourism; a must place to visit in Sibu.

However, to get to that stage, he said more things had to be done, such as how the items are to be displayed and well documented.

Also present during the visit were permanent secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Sarawak Hii Chang Kee, senator Robert Lau Hui Yew, chairman of the Lau King Howe Hospital Memorial Museum Association Sibu Temenggong Dato Vincent Lau Lee Ming, and the manager of the museum John Ting.