Minister hopes Borneo Culture Museum to officially open this year

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Abdul Karim (centre), flanked by Ting (front, second left) and Hii, seen during a tour around Sarawak Museum. — Photo by Chimon Upon

KUCHING (Aug 5): Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has expressed his hope for the long-awaited Borneo Culture Museum to officially open within this year.

The Borneo Culture Museum, which is a part of the grand Sarawak Museum Complex, is touted to be the second largest of its kind in Southeast Asia.

“It is hoped that this museum could attract many visitors and be made as a centre of knowledge,” he said this during a press conference held after officiating Sarawak Museum’s 130th-year anniversary at the old Sarawak Museum building here yesterday.

Adding on, Abdul Karim also revealed that there would be several other museums set for opening, such as the Maritime Museum, which is sited on what used to be Brooke Dockyard in Kuching; the Heritage Museums at Fort Lily in Betong, Fort Emma in Kanowit, Fort Brooke in Julau as well as Fort Hose in Marudi; as well as Santubong Archaeological Park.

“These museums would become interesting places that can be visited by tourists and visitors in the future,” said the minister.

Also known as Museum of Borneo’s Natural History and Ethnology, the old and iconic Sarawak Museum building here was constructed in 1891, during Rajah Charles Brooke’s rule.

Given the museum’s importance and significance to the socio-economic development of Sarawak, the government had, in 2015, approved an allocation meant for preservation works on the structure, which reached completion last year, said Abdul Karim.

Also present at the event yesterday were Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Sebastian Ting, permanent secretary to the ministry Hii Chang Kee and Sarawak Museum director Tazudin Mohtar.