List Labuan Museum as national heritage, urges Aaron

Conservation efforts: Aaron (left) looking at the artefacts on display at the Semarak Muzium Labuan. Also present was the Deputy Director-General (Policy) of the Department of Museums Malaysia, Muhamad Shawali Badi (second left). — Bernama

LABUAN: National Unity Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang wants the Labuan Museum to be listed as a national heritage building or site.

He is optimistic that the effort will materialise through a collaborative effort between the Department of Museums Malaysia and the Department of National Heritage.

“Over the past two decades since its establishment in 2004, Labuan Museum has welcomed an impressive 1.15 million visitors, as of 2023,” he said in his speech when launching the Semarak Muzium Labuan, held in conjunction with the museum’s 20th anniversary celebration, as reported by Bernama.

He commended the Labuan Museum for its role in organising various events, exhibitions, research initiatives, and educational awareness programmes.

Aaron also highlighted the museum’s conservation efforts in safeguarding priceless heritage treasures, including artefacts from the Neolithic era, items collected when the Sabah government ceded Labuan Island to the Federal Government in 1984, and memorial stones dating back to the island’s surrender to the British in 1846 and its subsequent independence.

“One notable specimen was an Indian fin whale skeleton in the Labuan Museum, which attained National Heritage object status on Jan 8, 2024, following the enactment of the National Heritage Act,” he said.

The organisation of Semarak Muzium is crucial to raising public awareness of the importance of preserving national heritage, he said.

He also acknowledged the potential of the Semarak Muzium to bridge a gap between museums and the public by educating people about the significance of national heritage being preserved in museums nationwide.