Looking forward to the official opening of new Borneo Culture Museum on March 4

Many of local folks are excited with the official opening ceremony of our new Sarawak Museum building which will be officiated by the Yang Dipertuan of Sarawak, His Excellency Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud on 4 March.

The museum had been renamed as "Borneo Culture Museum" and it is the largest in #Malaysia as well as the second largest in Southeast Asia region. I thank the Sarawak Museum Department and the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak for inviting me to the press conference on the opening ceremony of the building held yesterday.

The opening ceremony will also be attended by the Right Honorable Chief Minister of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg and other local dignitaries. Among the highlights of the opening ceremony will the project mapping show which will show the "mapping display" on the walls of the museum building to showcase various historical events that had happened in Sarawak. The construction of the museum started in 2014, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic the initial planning has been somewhat disrupted including the transfer of exhibit materials to its new location.

Apart from exhibiting the history of Sarawak and Borneo from pre-history to the 1970s, the new museum will also display pre-historic materials and information on the tribes in our state. On the second floor itself there is an exhibition space with the theme “Love Our River”, specially designed for children’s galleries. This building is different from the old museum because the items on display including the lights are interactive and can follow in the footsteps of visitors and so on. It is unique and will impress visitors who bring along their families and children. The public will only be able to visit the building from March 9 onwards and only 500 visitors are allowed at any one time. For the first three months visitors will not be charged any fees, and after that we will get the Cabinet’s approval on the rate of fees that should be charged or extend the entry period for free. Those who wish to come visit should register online to facilitate the visit.