Five New Historical Sites Set To Be Gazetted Under Sarawak Heritage Ordinance
KUCHING: The Sarawak Government continues to strengthen its heritage conservation agenda as five historical sites and structures with significant value to the state's history and identity have been proposed to be gazetted as Sarawak Heritage under the Sarawak Heritage Ordinance 2019.
Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah stated that the proposal was agreed upon during the 2026 Sarawak Heritage Council Meeting following a thorough review of the historical value, heritage, and importance of these sites to Sarawak's development and identity.
According to him, the sites proposed for gazettement are the Old Nurses Quarters Building and the Japanese Building in Kuching, the Tanjung Lobang Lighthouse and Salome Dam in Miri, as well as the site of the Old Sarawak Railway Line.
“These sites possess high historical value and reflect various phases of Sarawak's development, whether from the aspects of administration, infrastructure, social history, or wartime history,” he said during a press conference after the 2026 Sarawak Heritage Council Meeting here on Thursday.
Dato Sri Abdul Karim added that the gazettement is a crucial step in ensuring that heritage assets making up part of Sarawak's identity and history continue to be preserved and protected from any threats that could compromise their original value.
He noted that the gazettement process will allow conservation, documentation, and maintenance efforts to be carried out more systematically and continuously, in line with the provisions under the Sarawak Heritage Ordinance 2019.
Also present were the Deputy Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, Datuk Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew, Deputy Sarawak Secretary (Operation), Datu Hii Chang Kee, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, Morshidi Fredrick, Director of the Sarawak Museum Department, Nancy Jolhi, and former Rector of UiTM Sarawak Branch, Prof Dato Dr Jamil Hamali. -UKASnews
