Museum memorialises Nipah virus epidemic of 27 years ago
The Sg Nipah Time Tunnel Museum, which opened seven years ago, sees about 400 visitors monthly. (Bernama pic)
PORT DICKSON : The Nipah virus outbreak that claimed more than 100 lives in several villages around Bukit Pelanduk here about 27 years ago remains a memory difficult to erase in the minds of local residents.
To commemorate the tragedy and to ensure the significance of the epidemic is not lost on future generations, the Sungai Nipah Time Tunnel Museum opened in Kampung Baru Sungai Nipah seven years ago.
The museum, which displays key moments from the beginning of the outbreak to the recovery process, has received an encouraging response from visitors.
'The event is memorialised in the museum to educate the community about the history and resilience of the community when facing the crisis,' said Cheng Khai Lee, Kampung Baru Sungai Nipah village development and security committee chairman.
'It is interesting for the public to experience. In fact, the father of the museum's chairperson is said to be the first individual to have contracted the virus, which spread by bat-to-human transmission.'
Cheng noted that on average, close to 400 people visit the museum every year, including those from outside Negeri Sembilan.
'The school holidays are the busiest,' he added, noting that, as the museum is not open every day, visitors have to make an appointment.
The museum contains info on the outbreak and items from that time, including newspaper clippings, photos, and agricultural tools. (Bernama pic)
The epidemic wiped out the swine-farming industry in Bukit Pelandok. Cheng, who had been 10 at the time, recalled his mother telling him to pack as they had to move because the village was closed and tightly guarded by police and the military.
'It is bittersweet to remember; many died because of the virus, in addition to the large herds of pigs being culled,' he said.
Meanwhile, resident Winnie Lee Le Hoong, 50, said the establishment of the museum was important to raise awareness on the incident and educate the public to ensure it does not recur.
Lee, whose uncles had to dispose of livestock, highlighted that the museum contains information on the outbreak and items from that time, including newspaper clippings, photos, and agricultural tools.
Learn more about the Sg Nipah Time Tunnel Museum on Facebook.
Sg Nipah Time Tunnel Museum
Kampung Sungai Nipah,
71960 Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan
Contact: 012-361 8728
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
5 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Ministers shouldn't have to fake it till they make it, says KJ
Former minister Khairy Jamaluddin said people appointed to the Cabinet need time to settle in and cannot be expected to know everything about their jobs from day one. PETALING JAYA : Newly-appointed ministers should be given more time to settle into their jobs after being appointed to the Cabinet, says former minister Khairy Jamaluddin. The ex-health minister said that members of the Cabinet were expected to know everything related to their portfolio from day one, adding that this was unrealistic. 'The moment a minister is announced and appointed, almost the very next day, they see the press, and the press asks them, 'What are your priorities? This guy doesn't even know what day it is. They have to pretend. I mean, fake it till you make it, right?' he said in an episode of the Game of Impossible podcast with former minister Idris Jala and his son, Leon. Khairy said ministers need at least two or three weeks to understand their ministries. The former Rembau MP recounted how he took matters into his own hands when appointed as health minister in 2021, a portfolio which he admitted he was not very familiar with at the time. 'I had some goodwill with one of the big consulting companies because they did work for me before. So I asked them, can you help onboard me; that was my own initiative,' he said. Khairy said the firm then arranged virtual briefings with health experts from around the world as he learned about the portfolio. 'They brought in their partners from all over the world, from healthcare financing, public health, health economics, looking at how other countries transform their hospitals.' Since Malaysia's political system does not appoint specialists to such posts, Khairy said ministers must make the effort to understand their roles. 'You want somebody who's considered, somebody who's measured, somebody who knows what's realistic, rather than somebody just spewing absolute nonsense on day one,' he said. Revamp ministry offices Khairy, who has also served as minister for science, technology and innovation as well as youth and sports, also criticised the way ministerial offices were structured in Putrajaya, saying the layout often separated the minister from key staff. 'You walk into the office and you know this room is the private secretary, this room is the press secretary… That's not being in the trenches with the troops,' he said. The former Umno man said he changed this in the health ministry at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, opting instead to work side-by-side with his officers. He said his room was the same size as that of the ministry's secretary-general, 'same size as the directors of the task force'. 'When the troops see the generals there together, decision-making is easier,' said Khairy.
Focus Malaysia
7 hours ago
- Focus Malaysia
Delay on GP fee review: 'Face realities on the ground,' NACCOL told
A DOCTORS' group has expressed disappointment over the government's failure to to revise private general practitioners' (GP) consultation fees as promised. 'We note with deep disappointment that the Health Minister's promise to finalise the long-overdue review of private GP consultation fees within a month has now passed without action,' said Federation of Private Medical Practitioners' Associations, Malaysia (FPMPAM) president Dr Shanmuganthan TV Ganeson. 'Private GPs have been self-funding the essential primary care system for decades. Yet we remain shackled by consultation fees that have not changed in 33 years, while regulations and compliance costs continue to rise.' Recall that Health Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad told reporters on May 3 that the issue about GP consultation fees would be resolved 'within one month at the latest', adding that he had already prepared a Cabinet memorandum and circular. During Dzulkefly's May 3 press conference, the Health Minister claimed that the National Action Committee on the Cost of Living (NACCOL) had already agreed to a review of GP consultation fees. 'The Malaysian Medical Association and other GP bodies have presented a clear, evidence-based case for a fee update that ensures the sustainability of primary care clinics and the quality of care for our patients,' Dr Shanmuganathan said. 'We understand that NACCOL has raised concerns about the impact of the fee update. We want to remind NACCOL that these concerns are misplaced. 'Patients who visit GPs choose to do so for immediate, quality care—often to avoid hospital queues and costly specialist visits. They are willing to pay a fair fee for this timely service. 'Past analyses by NACCOL itself showed no significant impact on the Consumer Price Index, even with proposed fee updates as far back as 2019.' Moreover, Dr Shanmuganathan noted that third-party administrators have for too long suppressed GP consultation fees for corporate profit, while the Pharmaceutical Services Division, certain pharmacy groups, and even Pharma Corporations have lobbied to undermine the integrated GP clinic model that has served Malaysians well for over 60 years. 'The government must not hide behind a narrative that keeping GP fees artificially low somehow serves the public good,' he stressed. 'In reality, it threatens the survival of primary care—the most cost-effective part of our healthcare system—and shifts costs to patients in other ways. 'NACCOL must face these realities. It must not deny GPs the means to sustain their practices and continue serving communities effectively. 'We call on the Health Minister to honour his promise and on NACCOL to remove its obstacles and allow this long-overdue correction. Anything less is a disservice to GPs and the communities we care for daily.' ‒ June 6, 2025 Main image: The Straits Times
Free Malaysia Today
14 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Surveyor dies in 8th-floor fall at Penang construction site
Hairozie Asri, the Penang director of the occupational safety and health department, said the main contractor has been ordered to halt all related works until safety measures have been fully complied with. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : A surveyor was killed after reportedly falling from the eighth floor of a building – an estimated height of 27m – through an opening in a pressurisation shaft at a construction site in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, yesterday. Hairozie Asri, the Penang director of the occupational safety and health department, said the department received information about the fatal accident at 10.30am and immediately dispatched a team of investigation officers to the site. 'The victim, a 41-year-old local man working as a verticality surveyor with a subcontractor at the site, was confirmed dead after falling from the eighth floor through an opening in the pressurisation shaft. 'Preliminary investigations found that the opening was fenced off and covered only with plywood. It is believed that the measures provided insufficient protection for workers,' Bernama quoted him as saying. Hairozie said the department had issued three prohibition notices to the main contractor to halt all related works until safety measures have been fully complied with. He said the contractor had also been ordered to conduct an internal investigation to identify the cause of the incident, propose improvements, and present the findings to the department. Hairozie said the department would gather the relevant documents and record statements from all identified witnesses. 'A follow-up visit to the employer's premises will be made after corrective and preventive actions are taken. 'We will also pursue legal action under Section 15(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (Amendment) 2022 if any violations under the Act are found,' he said.
