KUCHING: Kuching will endeavour to become a city with a soul, said Tourism, Culture, Arts, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
He said for that to happen it must ensure that its pedigree and heritage are secured and open to display for the world to see.
“We have made a lot of headway in the arts and sciences but our wealth of knowledge has been kept
locked away all these years. We will display this for the city with a soul that we have been talking
about,” Abdul Karim said at the Gawai Raya gala at Dewan Suarah here yesterday.
Abdul Karim applauded the arts and culture department, saying, “I think that you can be proud because with your help we have cultural troupes from Sarawak in the Malaysian Embassies of United Kingdom, The Vatican, India and Singapore.”
He said his ministry will strive to continue the momentum to help Sarawak achieve its goal of being a holistically developed state.
“The world will see for itself the levels of sophistication that Sarawak can bring to the table only if we take matters like art and crafts seriously and for that reason we are exploring ways to create a centre for crafts in Kuching after we have completed the transformation of the old DUN building into a Centre for Modern and Fine Arts.”
Also present at the event was Assistant Minister for Tourism And Culture Datuk Lee Kim
Shin, Assistant Minister for Youth and Sports, Datuk Snowdan Lawan, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry, Hii Chang Kee and Sarawak Sports Corporation Ceo Dr Ong Kong Swee.
