Official opening of the iconic Brooke Dockyard Industrial Heritage Museum

Members of the public and also visitors can now visit the newly opened Brooke Dockyard Industrial Heritage Museum at Jalan Masjid, Kuching which will boost the tourism attraction within our city and Sarawak. The new museum is also part of our Government’s efforts under its Third Sarawak Tourism Master Plan to increase tourist arrivals from 4.6 million to 12.7 million. 

With such visitors’ turnout, we are hoping for the tourism industry to generate an estimated RM50 billion in economic returns by 2035. Thus, the opening of the Brooke Dockyard Industrial Heritage Museum will certainly further enrich Sarawak’s portfolio of tourism destinations because it is filled with unique and engaging exhibits. The facility itself is over 100 years old and is expected to attract an extraordinary number of visitors, comparable to the impressive record achieved by Borneo Cultures Museum (BCM). 

Such initiative also supports the Sustainable and Responsible Tourism thrust, which focuses on nurturing social values through heritage preservation, encouraging cultural sharing, and promoting data-driven scientific thinking. We hope it will produce a generation of Sarawakians with strong cognitive foundations, ready to face the challenges of the modern world and capable of competing at the global level by the year 2030. 

The transformation of Brooke Dockyard into an industrial heritage museum was a high-impact initiative carried out in phases from 2020 to 2025, involving a total cost of approximately RM46.7 million. It is through this transformation, the well known Brooke Dockyard, which is the oldest and highly iconic shipyard in Malaysia, has taken on a new look in which it has shifted from an industrial site into a living archive showcasing the impact of the Industrial Revolution in Sarawak for present and future generations.

It showcases a collection of heavy machinery and equipment that once powered the dockyard’s daily operations, as well as unique engineering structures found in a dry dock including a replica of His Highness’ Yacht (HHY) Zahora that had previously symbolised the grandeur of the Brooke administration era. We thanked our right honourable Premier of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Abang Haji Openg for having graced the official opening ceremony.

Possible postponement of the 22nd Malaysia Games (SUKMAXXII) due to Middle East crisis

Recently there were news on the possible postponement of the 22nd edition of the Malaysia Games (SUKMA) and Sarawak will abide by as well as respect of any decision made by the organisers on this matter. Our media friends had seek my comments after the Sultan of Selangor, had called for the games in Selangor to be postponed due to the ongoing conflict in the West Asia. The proposal made by the Sultan of Selangor had involved a postponement rather than a cancellation, taking into account the current uncertain situation.

In Sarawak, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development (MYSED) had not received any official decision from the Selangor Government or the Federal’s Ministry of Youth and Sports on the matter because it was informed through social media and news reports. We will abide by the decision to be made by Selangor even though Sarawak has made thorough preparations for the sporting event, including financial commitments as well as training preparations for athletes locally and abroad, in addition to efforts to inspect accommodation sites.

For the record, the hosting of this year’s SUKMA will involve nine districts in Selangor, so Sarawak have already conducted ground visits to all the locations to assess and determine suitable accommodation, including homestays, for the contingent. Although there would be disappointment if SUKMA2026 is postponed, the priority should be given to a collective decision that takes into account the current global situation.

Of course, we feel disappointed as a lot of effort and preparation has been made, but we leave it to the federal government, the Selangor state government, and the KBS to make the best decision. The Sultan of Selangor had also decreed that postponing the event would also be appropriate until the redevelopment of Shah Alam Stadium is fully completed. The organising of this year’s SUKMA by Selangor Government had required very high allocation