Minister: Sarawak gazettes 14 new heritage sites, receives historic artefacts
Abdul Karim (centre) going through his ministerial winding up speech text with Women, Childhood, and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah. – Photo by Roystein Emmor
KUCHING (May 27): A total of 14 historical sites, buildings, monuments, and underwater heritage have been successfully gazetted by the Sarawak Museum Department (JMS) under the Sarawak Heritage Ordinance (SHO 2019) in February this year, said Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
The Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister said these sites include the Rumah Panjang Melanau Kampong Sok in Matu; Rumah Sri Tanjung, Tanjung Lobang in Miri; Sacred Heart Church, Sungai Bawan in Kanowit; Makam Dato Permaisuri in Miri; Pusara Ali Wallace, Kampung Jaie in Sadong Jaya; and Shariff Skrang Cemetery, Kampung Igan in Matu.
Other gazetted sites, buildings, monuments and underwater heritage are the Kuching City Mosque site; Beting Maro battle site; Batu Brooke coal mine, Gunung Ngeli in Simunjan; Batu Ritong in Pa' Lungan, Bario; Kampung Jangkar battle site in Lundu; Tuang Schist Semeba in Kuching; Folded Schist Demak in Kuching; and the Japanese Landing Craft, Brighton Beach in Miri, he said.
Speaking at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Sitting, Abdul Karim in his ministerial winding-up speech also said that JMS, as the guardian of Sarawak and Borneo shared heritage, had recently received five artefact donations, including two Lun Bawang 1960s sunhats.
'The sunhats belonged to Bill and Pam Lavery, and we received them from their son, John Lavery. The donor claimed that the authentic sunhats were obtained during the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
'Bill Lavery was posted to Limbang that same year as a teacher and later served as headmaster under the Colombo Plan of External Aid of the Canadian government to Sarawak.
'The Lavery family left Sarawak in 1965. The hats were later passed on to their son, John Lavery, who entrusted it to the Sarawak Museum for safekeeping,' he said.
Another artefact, he said, was an old parang from Tebakang, Serian, which JMS had received from Mangu Bueng.
'The donor claimed that this parang has been with the Bueng's family for almost 100 years and it originally belonged to a group of headhunters who confronted Bueng and his wife in the early 1900s.
'In the ensuing fight, Bueng fought bravely and took one of their parangs. He brought it back to Kampung Tebakang Bidayuh, where it became a treasured family heirloom,' he said, adding that the parang remained with the Bueng's family, passed down through generations.
He added that JMS also received two unglazed ceramic vases from Santubong from donor Mohd Rizal Bujang who claimed that the pottery was discovered in the 1970s by his late father Bujang Abdullah together with the late Ibni Zen and the late Othman Zen while fishing off the coast of Santubong. Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah historical sites lead Sarawak Museum Department
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
Do you believe in karma? It plays out differently for ourselves versus others
We tend to think that our happiness is deserved, while other people's misfortunes are the consequence of their actions. — AFP Many people believe in karma, the idea that good deeds attract rewards and bad deeds attract punishment. A Canadian study, published in the journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, has examined this belief. It argues that the way we interpret the effects of karma varies according to whether we're talking about our own experiences or those of others. Cindel White, associate professor in the Department of Psychology at York University and her team set out to understand more about people's beliefs in karma. The researchers hypothesise that the need for justice leads us to think that others deserve their misfortunes, while the desire to see ourselves as a good person encourages us to perceive our victories as deserved. It's a way of looking at things that flatter our ego, while at the same time comforting us with the idea that order reigns. To test this idea, researchers conducted several experiments involving over 2,000 particpants In the first, 478 Americans who believed in karma were asked to recount a karmic event they or someone else had experienced. The vast majority (86%) chose to talk about a personal experience, and of these, 59% mentioned a positive event linked, in their opinion, to a good deed. In contrast, 92% of those who told someone else's story mentioned a negative event. A second experiment involved over 1,200 participants from the United States, India and Singapore. They, too, were asked to write about a personal karmic experience or that of someone else. Here again, these figures speak for themselves: 69% of those who wrote about themselves described a positive episode, compared to just 18% of those who wrote about someone else. Even the vocabulary used was more positive in personal accounts. The belief in karma allows people to see other people's suffering as justified retribution. — Freepik Prevalence of positive bias The researchers note that this effect was less marked in participants from India and Singapore. They believe this difference reflects the lesser prevalence of the self-positivity bias in these cultures. 'The positive bias in karmic self-perceptions is a bit weaker in the Indian and Singaporean samples compared with US samples, but across all countries, participants were much more likely to say that other people face karmic punishments while they receive karmic rewards,' explains White in a news release. The study shows how supernatural beliefs can be used strategically. 'Thinking about karma allows people to take personal credit and feel pride in good things that happen to them even when it isn't clear exactly what they did to create the good outcome, but it also allows people to see other people's suffering as justified retribution,' says White. 'This satisfies various personal motives – to see oneself as good and deserving of good fortune, and to see justice in other people's suffering – and supernatural beliefs like karma might be especially good at satisfying these motives when other, more secular explanations fail.' But if karma comforts us, it also acts as a mirror for our biases. By believing that our happiness is deserved, while the misfortunes of others are the consequence of their actions, we nurture a reassuring worldview that is sometimes blind to injustice. This kind of belief speaks volumes about our need for order and merit in a world where chance remains difficult to accept. – AFP Relaxnews
The Star
2 days ago
- The Star
Beijing slams Rubio 'attack' on China after Tiananmen Square remarks
BEIJING: Beijing hit back Wednesday (June 4) at US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (pic) for saying that the world will "never forget" the deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989, describing his remarks as an "attack" on China. Chinese troops and tanks forcibly cleared peaceful protesters from Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, after weeks-long demonstrations demanding greater political freedoms. The exact toll is unknown but hundreds died, with some estimates exceeding 1,000 people. China's communist rulers have since sought to erase any public mention of the crackdown, with censors scrubbing all online references and the foreign media warned over its coverage of the anniversary. Police were seen by AFP on Wednesday at the entrance to Wan'an Cemetery, a site in west Beijing where victims of the crackdown are known to be buried. Officers were also posted at several intersections leading into Tiananmen Square on Chang'an Avenue, a broad thoroughfare that is placed under tight security throughout the year. On Wednesday evening, a line of buses and a cherry picker partially blocked screens at the German and Canadian embassies showing images of candles, a symbol commonly used to pay tribute to Tiananmen victims. - 'Never forget' - Rubio said in a statement the "world will never forget" what happened on June 4, even as Beijing "actively tries to censor the facts". "Today we commemorate the bravery of the Chinese people who were killed as they tried to exercise their fundamental freedoms, as well as those who continue to suffer persecution as they seek accountability and justice for the events of June 4, 1989," Rubio said. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian hit back during a Wednesday briefing in the capital, saying Beijing had "lodged a solemn protest" over the American politician's comments. "The erroneous statements by the US side maliciously distort historical facts, deliberately attack China's political system and developmental path, and seriously interfere in China's internal affairs," Lin said. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te echoed Rubio's remarks, vowing to preserve the memory of victims of the bloody crackdown. "Authoritarian governments often choose to be silent and forget history; democratic societies choose to preserve the truth and refuse to forget those who have contributed to the ideal of human rights and their dreams," Lai said on Facebook. China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to seize the democratic island by force. - 'Reaffirm our commitment' - In Hong Kong, jailed activist Chow Hang-tung began a 36-hour hunger strike on Wednesday, a dogged attempt to individually commemorate the anniversary in a city that once hosted huge public remembrances. The former lawyer used to help organise an annual vigil that drew tens of thousands to the city's Victoria Park. Hong Kong had been the only place under Chinese rule where commemoration of the crackdown was tolerated. Slogans at the candlelight vigil sometimes called for democracy in China and an end to one-party rule. But after huge and sometimes violent protests roiled the city in 2019, Beijing brought in a wide-ranging national security law that has quashed political dissent. The public memorial has effectively been banned and Chow imprisoned, facing a potential life sentence on subversion charges. On Wednesday, AFP journalists saw dozens of police patrolling the district around the park. Over the last few years, activists have been detained for "offences in connection with seditious intention" around the anniversary. In a social media post, Chow said her hunger strike would "commemorate this day and reaffirm our commitment". She called the city's national security officers "real 'criminals'" and urged authorities to apologise to her over her "wrongful" imprisonment. "History tells us that (the apology) will likely take a very long time -- the Tiananmen Mothers have been waiting for 36 years and still have not received an apology," she said, referring to an activist group made up of families of victims of the crackdown. A video featuring 87-year-old Zhang Xianling, whose 19-year-old son was killed in 1989, circulated online last week. China's authorities have never addressed the group's plea for dialogue around the issue -- instead, they have used all means to monitor and wiretap members of the Tiananmen Mothers, Zhang said. "The lights in Victoria Park may have been blown out by the gales, but the sparks of justice will glow in the hearts of every conscientious person," she added. At a vigil Wednesday on Taipei's Liberty Square, 20-year-old American student Lara Waldron told AFP: "I feel like this June 4 is very close to me right now. "As a college student, I'm of the age of many organisers and participants -- people (who) lost their lives in Tiananmen." - AFP
Daily Express
3 days ago
- Daily Express
Petronas denies it is leaving Canada
Published on: Wednesday, June 04, 2025 Published on: Wed, Jun 04, 2025 By: FMT Reporters Text Size: Petronas has issued a statement to deny that it is leaving Canada despite there being no mention of it making such a move. (Reuters pic) PETALING JAYA: National oil corporation Petronas has denied that it was leaving Canada following a news report that it may consider selling its Canadian company for US$7 billion. In a brief statement, Petronas also said it was committed to its investments in Canada, where it operates the North Montney Joint Venture upstream gas development. Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that Petronas was considering options for its Canadian company, formerly known as Progress Energy Resources Corp, including a sale. Petronas issued the statement despite there being no mention anywhere in the report that it was quitting Canada. In the statement, the oil corporation reiterated that it is a major partner in the LNG Canada gas liquefaction facility in Kitimat, British Columbia. 'With LNG Canada preparing for its first cargo this year, Petronas is proud to be providing lower carbon, reliable Canadian liquefied natural gas to support global energy markets for decades to come. 'Any reports that claim Petronas is leaving Canada are inaccurate,' the statement said. Quoting a source, Bloomberg reported that Petronas is working with a financial adviser on a potential disposal and that a transaction 'could value the Canadian business at US$6 billion to US$7 billion'. Petronas bought Progress Energy for about US$5.3 billion in 2012, as well as a 25% stake in the LNG Canada project. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
