KUCHING: The Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV), now upgraded and fully restored, is tipped to benefit Sarawak’s tourism industry.
In stressing this, the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) secretary-general Datuk Roslan Abdul Rahman predicted an increase of domestic and foreign tourists to SCV and the state.
“This upgrading and restoration project will boost incomes of residents and reactivate tourism activities and prepares them to receive the presence of domestic and foreign tourists.
“The tourism and culture sector are among the most important sectors in ensuring that the country’s economy and service sector grow rapidly.
“This is because it not only generates income but also creates economic spillover through the provision of job and business opportunities and improves the standard of living of the local population,” he said.
He said this in his speech at the ceremony to hand over the completed SCV upgrading project by the ministry on Thursday.
Roslan also expressed his gratitude to Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) as the implementing agency and TMK Construction and Transport Sdn as the contractor for successfully completing the project on Jan 12 this year.
Meanwhile, SEDC general manager Datuk Abdul Hadi Datuk Abdul Kadir said that there were eleven ethnic houses that were involved in the upgrading and repairing process, among them – Iban Longhouse, Bidayuh Longhouse, Melanau Tall House, Chinese Farm House, Malay Town House, Lake Pavilion Hut, Budaya Restaurant, Parang Ilang Hut, Penan Hut, a new traditional Sago Hut and a new timber Jetty.
“This project is not just another physical structure handed over to SEDC, but it is also one of the symbols of success in empowering the tourism, art, and culture industry in our state.
“I am confident that the delivery of this project will have a positive impact on the local economy and improve the standard of living of the local communities,” he said.
MOTAC in a statement said the federal government approved a total of RM20 million to repair and upgrade tourism product facilities featuring cultural villages in four states – Sarawak, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu and Melaka.
Additionally, it said that the upgrading and improvement work for SCV costed RM5 million. Physical work began in November 2021 and was completed in January this year.
Present at the handover ceremony was Desmond Douglas Jerukan, deputy permanent secretary Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak (MTCP), Surrendran Sathasivam, director of Services Industry Division Ministry of Economy Malaysia, Debbie Jenggut Nyelang, director of Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak, Mark James Santi Ferguson, chief executive officer (CEO) of Hemisphere Corporation Sdn Bhd and Jane Lian Labang, general manager of Sarawak Cultural Village.
