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Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong re-opens Malay Heritage Centre (MHC) – September 21st, 2012
PM Lee with the dignitaries
Malay Heritage Centre is open again! Are you historically inclined? Socially inclined? Would you like to explore different cultures? Or are you all the above? Then a one stop venue for you is ‘Malay Heritage Centre’. After one year’s renovation, the revamped Malay Heritage Centre showcasing the rich Malay heritage is now open to public.
National Heritage Board says, that -“Malay Heritage Centre includes new permanent galleries focusing on the significance of Kampong Gelam in Singapore’s history, two new temporary exhibition spaces, a multi-purpose auditorium, a new visitor services centre, and a new landscaped garden featuring herbs and spices of the Malay world. Beyond the physical facelift, the revamped permanent galleries will also feature artefacts contributed by members of the community, alongside those drawn from the national collection. These include a portrait bust of composer Zubir Said, coins issued by various empires that were recovered from archaeological digs in MHC, and household objects that depict the lifestyle in early Kampong Gelam such as a traditional Gerengseng (cooking pot)-”.
The month of September is to go full of activities for the visitors to explore the combination of traditional and contemporary arts, culture and heritage of the Malays through its inaugural Malay cultureFest
by local and overseas performers, that will include Malay games, a variety of workshops, lectures, concerts and more.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong re-opened the MHC on the 1st of September 2012.
He expressed his happiness to re-open the MHC this time and also to have opened the MHC in 2005, which has since then become a national attraction. He said that the Centre will better showcase Malay culture to the community, other ethnic groups and foreign visitors. He praised the Malay Heritage Foundation for working closely with National Heritage Board (NHB) to develop strategic directions for the new Centre, including the storyline and content for new permanent galleries.
He also asked the Malay Heritage Centre to continue to reach out to the community, to remain relevant and to promote a sense of ownership.
He said that the MHC must reach the young, not just the Malay children but also to other ethnic groups to teach them to appreciate Singapore’s multi-cultural heritage from an early age, so they understand the shared cultures and the importance of ethnic cohesion.
He also said that, the Government will continue to support such heritage institutions throughout Singapore to preserve the rich cultures of the ethnic groups and strengthen the sense of belonging to Singapore.
After the re-opening and speech, PM Lee with other dignitaries visited the different galleries of MHC.
For more information on the activities at MHC, please visit http://www.malayheritage.org.sg