KUCHING: Sarawak is set to be the first state in Malaysia to have the biggest Augmented Reality (AR) mural.
India Street Pedestrian Mall Committee Chairman Datuk Wee Hong Seng said the AR murals in old streets of Kuching will bring the murals to life at one’s fingertip.
“We have painted a few murals which tell the history of business and trade activities in the main bazaar, but now we are waiting for funds to apply the AR functions on the rest,” he told reporters after the launch of Gawai Raya Bazaar at India Street.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg was present to launch the bazaar yesterday.
The mural project initiated by Wee in line with the Old Kuching Smart Heritage (OKShe) is to further promote the state’s tourism product. Funds for the project have already been applied from the Tourism Ministry.
Themed ‘History on Wall’, four murals have been completed and DBKU is striving to discover more history of old Kuching.
“There are already murals of the Early Merchants at India Street, Symphony of the Tinsmith at Carpenter Street, The Lane Hawkers at Kai Joo Lane, and the Kuching River Taxi (The Sampan) at Jawa Street.
“Soon, we are going to paint a well mural at Upper China Street and also a cat mural at Jalan Wawasan area,” he said.
He added that DBKU is working with local artist such as Leonard Siaw from Sarawak to paint the murals, and other local artist to tell the history of the murals in the video.
“The AR mural is to enhance the artwork. We are introducing digital and virtual elements to the murals to incorporate tourism information for better audience engagement.
“The goal is to let the audience understand the interactive stories that either represent the locations or artworks using animation and 3D (three-dimensional) objects while spurring interests,” said Wee.
He also hoped that the Tourism Ministry would approve the funding for the AR project as it is expected to be completed by this year.
“DBKU would then submit the mural project to the Malaysia Book of Records for the title of the biggest AR mural in Sarawak.”
On top of that, he revealed that DBKU has received sponsors for plaques of old road names to be placed on the streets, which includes Tun Abang Haji Openg, Gambier Street, Gartak Street, Power Street, Main Bazaar, Bishopgate, Ewe Hai Street, and Khoo Hun Yeang Street.
“The plaque does not only have the old name of the streets, but also a brief history on the name.
“We are appealing to members of the public to sponsor DBKU so that it could put up more plaques and tell the history of our beautiful Kuching City,” said Wee.
