KUCHING: While the Borneo Cultures Museum has been physically completed, efforts to prepare and place the collections to be displayed in the museum have been hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said this was the reason that the official opening of the museum had been postponed.
“Displaying items in a museum is different from displaying items at home or in a store. In a museum, each item that we want to display to the public must have its own story.
“Even if the item that we want to display is just a small thing, it must have its own history and story. That is why it takes a long time to set up the museum,” he explained.
He said this at a press conference following the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between Sarawak Museum Department (SMD) and Heritage Conservation Centre (HCC) Singapore, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Sarawak at Pullman Hotel here on Thursday (Nov 11).
“The museum should have been officially launched at the end of last year, but as we all know, we were amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“God willing, if there are no obstacles, we will be able to launch it next year. Then again, this will depend on the Covid-19 situation,” he said.
Abdul Karim called on the public to be patient, adding that when the time came to officially open the Borneo Cultures Museum, it would be the pride of the people of Sarawak.
When asked about whether entry fees would be charged at the museum, he said, “We will discuss this together first because I stand guided by the state cabinet.”
He noted that museums would often charge entry fees. Nevertheless, he assured that if entry fees were charged at this museum, the rate for Sarawakians would not be the same as the rate for tourists.
While he said that the entry fees, if imposed, would not be as high as those at museums in Europe, he believed it would be good to have some form of entry fees.
“If we go to Melaka, we also have to pay to enter the museum there,” he said.
On another matter, he welcomed collaborations between the state and other countries with regard to research efforts on culture and heritage.
He said some others countries had come a long way in terms of such research, mentioning the Netherlands and United Kingdom (UK) as examples.
“We would love to have collaborations that can develop and provide more accurate information on matters related to the culture and heritage of Sarawak,” said Abdul Karim.
For instance, he said Sarawak could collaborate with Indonesia, Brunei, and England in these efforts.
“There is a long linkage of history between Brunei and Sarawak. I believe that with such collaboration, we would be able to share about many things.
“The same goes for England. We used to be a colony of the British. Many of our treasures had been brought to the UK and kept there. It is possible that with such collaboration, we will be able to know more about the history of our own heritage,” he said.
