THE Borneo Cultures Museum, Malaysia’s largest — and Southeast Asia’s second largest museum — houses some 1,400 artefacts ranging from ceramics to ethnographical and zoological specimens.
The development of the museum commenced in 2014 at a cost of RM323mil, fully funded by the Sarawak government. It is the biggest project in the history of the Sarawak Museum since it was established in 1891.
Despite delays in its opening due to the Covid-19 pandemic, today marks another historical date for Sarawak as it proudly launches its world-class museum.
New Sarawak Tribune spoke with Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, who shared his views and hopes for the Borneo Cultures Museum as well as future plans for other existing museums.
THE PANDEMIC OBVIOUSLY HAS AFFECTED THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPENING OF THE BORNEO CULTURES MUSEUM. HOW DO YOU FEEL, NOW THAT IT IS COMPLETED AND WILL BE LAUNCHED TODAY?
I’m indeed elated because we initially planned to launch it last year but yes, Covid-19 has caused many things to be delayed.
One of the reasons also for the delay is because some artefacts need to be stored in a controlled environment. This required us to engage contractors from Singapore with the expertise. With the movement restriction, it was also difficult for the contractors.
We have finally reached the stage where Covid-19 is slowly subsiding. As such, the time has come for us to get the museum up and running.
WHAT MAKES THE MUSEUM UNIQUE COMPARED TO OTHER MUSEUMS IN THE REGION?
Well, there are some levels of pride that come with being bestowed the largest museum in Malaysia and the second largest in Southeast Asia. It is certainly something to be proud of.
What we are displaying inside is also something that sets it apart from other museums. The reason why we call it the Borneo Cultures Museum is because it reflects the identity and culture of the many ethnicities in Borneo, vis-à-vis Sarawak. We have so many ethnic groups and the culture of each ethnic group will be reflected.
I can say that the setting-up of the museum goes a long way to unite the various ethnic groups. People will be pleased to see their cultures being portrayed in a grand museum. When they are happy, they will be very supportive of the government and what the government is doing.
Apart from that, the building itself is iconic. A competition was held among architects and the winning design was chosen by the committee. The design is different from all the other buildings that we have in Sarawak and even in Malaysia.
WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THE NEW MUSEUM?
Firstly, I hope it will be the pride of Sarawak and all ethnic groups here. I would say the museum will be a must-visit venue. If visitors want to know more about the different ethnicities and cultures in Sarawak, this is the place.
When the museum is open to the public on March 9, I expect a large crowd. I believe the number in the first six months would also be huge.
Having said that, I do hope visitor arrivals can be sustained throughout the years. This is where the Sarawak Museum Department plays its part and among others, make sure that the museum is well taken care of. As it is an interactive museum with technological features, the department must ensure that these are well maintained too.
I also hope that people, especially locals, will have love, passion and appreciation for museums. Museums are a place where people can gain knowledge and that is how I would love the new museum as well as other museums in Sarawak to be looked upon.
ARE THERE ANY PLANS FOR THE OLD MUSEUM?
We are actually on a mission to build, and upgrade, more museums. Sarawak has many treasures, including the (colonial era) forts that have been upgraded. After gazetting the forts as heritage buildings, work is in progress to fill them with relevant contents.
The ministry and the department are also in the midst of establishing small museums throughout the state. Among others, the Brooke Dockyard will be turned into a maritime museum. Bau is another area where we want to build a goldmine museum. We are going to set up an art gallery at the previous Kuching Municipal Council building, which is located opposite the Central Police Station.
Resort places like Lundu, Telok Melano and Sematan will also be looked into so that visitors can visit heritage places while enjoying time at the beaches. Moreover, when our centre for performing arts at the old State Legislative Assembly (DUN) building is completed, visitors can watch live culture performances.
Visitors coming into Sarawak or Kuching in particular can begin their jerayawaya or tour by visiting the old museum first then move on to the Borneo Cultures Museum. They can also visit the nearby Islamic Heritage Museum and Chinese Museum then go for a road trip up to the Sarawak Cultural Village. This is something that can be arranged as a travel and tour package. In addition to that, we can include trips to Mulu and Niah in Miri, among others, to make them stay longer.
ARE THERE ANY PLANS TO COLLABORATE WITH FIRST-CLASS MUSEUMS LIKE THE BRITISH MUSEUM?
Most certainly, we will collaborate with other museums in the world. We have in fact formed collaborations with museums and universities overseas.
When we were building this museum, the team from the department and I visited several museums in Europe. There was a museum in the city of Leiden, the Netherlands where we found out that it housed many artefacts from Borneo. Unfortunately, the museum was unable to sustain itself and had to close down as it was not receiving support from the government and relied on non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This is different here as the Sarawak government is very supportive and eager to develop our museums. The museum gave us more than 400 items and the ambassador of Netherlands actually came down to Kuching to do the handover personally.
Similarly, two years ago we went to the University of Florida to bring back the Niah bones, which were sent over many years ago for them to do research on the Niah Cave. With the research done, we feel that the bones ought to be brought back. We are fortunate that they were willing to return the over 40,000-year-old bones.
This process will be ongoing with museums all over the world. If the artefact is something that belongs to us, we will work to have it return to us in its original form or we can produce replicas.
Moreover, we want to show the world, including Sarawakians, that we are giving a lot of emphasis on our arts, cultures, heritages, and museums. Hopefully universities and Sarawakians will be able to see that there are opportunities down here.
The Sarawak Museum Department used to be small but now you can see how much it has grown. Many people want to associate themselves with the museum so it can be a place where people from overseas come and do research.
SARAWAK AND ITS PEOPLE ARE VERY LUCKY TO HAVE LEADERS WHO PLACE GREAT IMPORTANCE ON HISTORY AND HERITAGE.
Definitely, a civilisation and city must have its history and identity. Without history and identity, the city would not be as interesting. Visitors coming to Sarawak would want to know what our history is and how we come into being. They would want to know who the inhabitants of Sarawak are and their cultures.
We are very lucky and blessed that Sarawak has many ethnicities that offer many great things because each ethnic group has its own culture. Despite the differences, these are the kind of things that bind us together and what we call unity in diversity.
WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR THE PEOPLE OF SARAWAK WITH REGARD TO LOVING AND APPRECIATING OUR RICH ARTS, CULTURES AND HERITAGES?
I would love to see all visitors, especially our Sarawakians, appreciate the efforts that the state government and its agencies are doing to highlight the cultures of Sarawak. These are our heritage, so we should take pride and preserve them as much as possible for future generations.
My ministry and the Sarawak Museum Department will be making arrangements for school students to visit the museum so they can learn and appreciate our history and cultures. I remember going to the British Museum and seeing a lot of students with their teachers lining up to enter the museum. The excitement that these young people have, spending the day in a museum is something that we want to see here.
Citizens who know and can appreciate their cultures and past will be able to appreciate what their forefathers and leaders have done – how the country became what it is today. Thus, things like museums have got a lot to offer when it comes to building up the citizens’ character.
At the same time, I would like to remind all to be mindful when they are viewing artefacts during their. Please do not take away or touch the artefacts because they are fragile. During one of my visits to the new museum, I reminded the department to make sure that there are measures in place to hold visitors back so that they are unable to touch any of the artefacts on display. When we visited the British Museum, there were security guards posted at practically every corner so you cannot touch anything, just look, and read about the artefacts.
