THE STAR – Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud says the state capital will have a new museum near Padang Merdeka.
Speaking at the opening of the Sixth Sarawak Cultural Symposium, Taib said the museum would be where Dewan Tun Abdul Razak, one of Sarawak Museum’s two galleries, is situated.
He did not say whether the existing building — the former seat of the Sarawak Legislative Assembly between 1973 and 1975 — would be demolished to make way for the new museum or just revamped and upgraded.
According to the state Museum Department’s website, Dewan Tun Abdul Razak was converted into the present gallery in 1982 and declared open in 1983. Its collections are mostly items related to pre-historical era, such as jars, brasswares, Chinese furniture, longhouse gallery and others. There is also a museum cafe and shop on the ground floor.
The more famous half of the state museum is officially known as the Sarawak Museum Old Building.
A systematic plan to maintain heritage buildings within Kuching’s old quarter was first made public during the opening of the shopping mall Plaza Merdeka late last year.
Taib said at the opening of the mall that a “Halaman Heritage” would be declared this year in conjunction with Sarawak’s 50th anniversary since joining Malaya and Sabah to form Malaysia.
At the event yesterday, Taib referred to the plan as the “Legacy Park”.
“We will ask experts about the (park’s) boundary. Maybe we can begin at Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg, including the Kuching club (Sarawak Club), until the Sarawak General Hospital. That is up to the experts to decide,” Taib said.
“We want to have this in the centre of the town to encourage people to have their leisurely walks through our legacy so that we can all be conscious of the development of culture.”
The centrepiece of Kuching’s historical buildings are located around Padang Merdeka. Nearby buildings include the General Post Office, the Old Court House, the old Kuching District Mosque and Main Bazaar, where commerce first thrived in Sarawak. Most of these structures date back to the White Rajah Brooke era.
