KUCHING: The opening of the Brooke Dockyard Industrial Heritage Museum is a manifestation of the Sarawak Government's strong commitment to elevate historical heritage as a strategic asset, boosting the growth of the state's tourism sector.

Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said that the transformation of the oldest dockyard site in Malaysia into a museum with an industrial heritage concept will not only preserve historical treasures, but also open up new economic spillovers to the local community.

According to him, the project worth approximately RM46.7 million, which has been implemented in phases since 2020, has now emerged as a ‘living archive’ that records the evolution of Sarawak's maritime industry for present and future generations.

"The opening of this museum is not just adding another tourist destination, but strengthening Sarawak's historical identity as well as becoming an educational platform, especially in the STEM field," he said when speaking during the Brooke Dockyard Industrial Heritage Museum Opening Ceremony here on Monday.

The ceremony was officiated by Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Tun Datuk Abang Openg, marking a key achievement in efforts to strengthen the state's museum landscape.

Commenting further, Dato Sri Abdul Karim said that the museum will complement the existing tourism ecosystem including the Borneo Cultures Museum which has continued to record encouraging performance with more than 1.59 million visitors since its opening in March 2022.

He added that in the first three months of this year alone, the museum has successfully attracted more than 54,000 visitors, proving the strong potential of the museum sector as a catalyst for the tourism economy.

"With the opening of the Brooke Dockyard Industrial Heritage Museum, we are optimistic that Sarawak will be able to attract more tourists and subsequently achieve the target of 12.7 million visitors with an economic return of RM50 billion by 2035," he explained.

In the meantime, he stressed that museums today are no longer just places to store artifacts, but rather function as knowledge hubs, community interaction centres and drivers of socio-economic development.

He added that strategic collaborations with international institutions such as the British Museum and National Geographic have also strengthened Sarawak's position on the global heritage research and preservation map.

Apart from featuring the unique engineering structure of the dry dock, the museum also displays a collection of heavy machinery and replicas of historic vessels that have played an important role in the development of the state's maritime industry.

He also shared that the development of the surrounding area including initiatives of murals, open markets and conservation of historic sites will be implemented in stages to create a more dynamic and attractive environment for visitors.

Also present were Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Professor Dr Sim Kui Hian, Sarawak Legislative Assembly Speaker Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar, Minister for Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom, Sarawak Minister for Transport Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin, Deputy Sarawak Secretary (Economic Planning and Development) Dato Sri Dr Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel and other guests. -UKASnews