KUCHING: Sarawak Museum Department (SMD) is committed to identifying potential activities through a platform of collaboration which will contribute to the development of the museum and also benefit collaboration partners and the state as a whole.
SMD director Tazudin Mohtar said the department’s commitment in this regard was evidenced through the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between SMD and Heritage Conservation Centre (HCC) Singapore, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Sarawak.
“Since long ago, SMD has worked with various parties especially institutions of higher education from the United States, Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, and also within the country such as Universiti Sains Malaysia.
“Such collaboration is related to archaeological and zoological research in Sarawak,” he said when speaking at the MoU signing ceremony between SMD and HCC Singapore, Unimas, and UiTM Sarawak here on Thursday (Nov 11).
He said the signing of these MoUs would provide room for long-term collaborations between SMD and the three establishments in the field of conservation and research.
“The conservation of artifacts and historical monuments is one of the main activities of museums, as is practised all over the world.”
Tazudin said the conservation of artifacts was crucial to ensure that museum collections could be preserved for future generations.
“Today, SMD is very fortunate to collaborate with HCC which is an institution highly specialised in the field of conservation in Southeast Asia.”
He said the cooperation between SMD and HCC had actually commenced as early as 2014, adding that HCC’s expertise had been shared and applied in SMD’s conservation methods.
“The sharing of this expertise has helped SMD in the conservation and storage of its collections through suitable standard operating procedure by creating a systematic conservation and storage area at the annex building.”
He said it was a responsibility of SMD to ensure that historical artifacts, buildings, monuments, and sites were kept in good condition and with a long lifespan. Thus, he said such collaborations in conservation efforts were vital.
As for the collaborations with institutions of higher learning such as Unimas and UiTM Sarawak, he said this would provide the opportunity for the sharing of expertise among the parties involved.
“The institutions of higher learning can share new ideas, theories, and research methodologies, whereas SMD can share about knowledge and experience on artifact collections in the museum,” he said, adding that the museum’s collections could be used by the university for research purposes.
Tazudin said the collaboration with both universities would also benefit SMD staff members in terms of human resource development.
“Staff members can further develop their careers by continuing their studies at these institutions of higher learning. Perhaps the universities can give way for SMD staff members to join their courses.”
He expressed his confidence that the collaborative efforts between SMD and HCC, Unimas, and UiTM would be a win-win situation for all involved.
