Minister: Sarawak gazettes 14 new heritage sites, receives historic artefacts

Borneo Post

27-05-2025

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