KUCHING: The new Sarawak Museum Campus here will exhibit a panoramic resemblance of the famed Niah Cave as a ‘wow’ factor of the five-storey building.
Sarawak Museum Department acting director Suria Bujang stated, “In the fourth floor of the building, we will have a Niah cave panorama and we will try our best to enliven the surroundings just like the real one so that the visitors can feel like they are in the real cave.”
He told this to New Sarawak Tribune after flagging off a ‘Treasure Hunt’ activity in conjunction with a ‘Night at the Museum’ programme held at the Islamic Heritage Museum here, yesterday.
The Niah Cave panorama will be complemented with the soon-to-be transported back Niah Cave collection which is currently in the USA.
The collection consisting of over 100 human remains discovered by Tom Harrisson and his wife during excavation works in Niah between 1947 and 1967 was brought to Nevada to be studied.
The main cave, Niah Great Cave, is located on the northern edge of a limestone mountain named Gunung Subis (Mount Subis). The whole Gunung Subis Limestone Complex lies some 17 kilometres inland from the South China Sea coast, near the town of Batu Niah and about 65 kilometres south west of Miri.
Suria also revealed that the second floor of the new museum would be turned into a Children’s Gallery.
“This is to attract and increase children’s interest and appreciation towards the state’s cultural and historical heritage and artefacts,” he said.
Suria mentioned that the third floor will feature archaeological artefacts while the fifth floor will display special collection of artefacts.
“Apart from the display of artefacts, the new building will have an auditorium, exhibition area of 900 sq metres, restaurant and other facilities.
“Besides that, we will also include digital and interactive elements in line with the state government’s agenda to move forward with digital technology,” he elaborated.
The Sarawak Museum Department is currently waiting for the new museum to be handed over by the contractors through Public Works Department (JKR) which is scheduled to be held on Aug 9.
“After the new museum is handed over to us by JKR, the process of moving artefacts into the new building will take place immediately,” he stressed.
The new 7,000 sq metres Sarawak Museum which costs around RM300 million commenced construction in 2016 and is expected to open its doors to the public by the end of next year.
On the old Sarawak Museum (Ethnology Museum), Suria said that it would still be used and operated as a museum and that the ongoing renovation work included the repair of the roof and interior of the building.
“The old building is currently closed for repair. It focuses on the preservation of the building’s physicality where the contractors will repair the roofing and the leakages.
“The repair works will be done without changing any of the building’s physicality such as the walls and the floor. After the repair is completed, the old museum will operate as usual to display ethnological artefacts.”
