Perak's museums

Malaysia's first museum: (Top) Established at Taiping, Perak in 1883. (Above) Muzium Darul Ridzuan in Ipoh Pictures: Liz Price

Published on The Brunei Times (http://www.bt.com.bn/en)
Perak museums different from others
Liz Price
MALAYSIA

Sunday, May 3, 2009

WHEN the word museum is mentioned and a lot of people would shudder or turn a deaf ear, as museums are often considered boring places. But I find Malaysian museums are quite interesting, especially if they are located in old colonial buildings. As these buildings are small, you can look around the whole area without getting bored.

Malaysia's first museum was established in Taiping in Perak in 1883, with Leonard Wray as the first curator. Wray was a collector of flora and fauna, and was also a keen photographer.

These hobbies helped him establish a name for himself and the museum.

In the 1890s, he collected a series of ethnographical photographs of aborigines of the Malay Peninsula and also produced an album of public works in progress in Perak during 1892-93. His photos formed a good collection in the Perak Museum.

When you mention the Perak Museum, some people assume you are referring to the museum in Ipoh, which is the state capital of Perak.

However Perak Museum is the name of the one in Taiping. The building was completed in 1886 although additions were added later.

It is an impressive white building with turrets. An arched porch leads to the entrance and you almost feel as if you are entering a castle or stately mansion. Inside are four galleries but the first thing you see is the imposing throne of the late Sultan of Perak.

In the early days the museum pioneers concentrated mostly on the flora and fauna as started by Wray. It was only in later years that the museum began to add collections relating to the culture of Malaya.

Today the museum has a rich collection of cultural, natural, prehistorical and archaeological exhibits. The cultural exhibits include the economy and ethnology. The archaeological treasures are quite impressive and include ancient weapons, aboriginal hunting and farming implements. In addition the anthropological collection include dresses and ornaments, as well as household items. There are also musical instruments and symbols of religious items, as well as ones used for births, deaths and marriages.

I like seeing the stuffed animals as it's difficult to see these animals alive, especially in the wild, so to see them in a museum gives you a good idea of their physical size and shape. Flora is less well represented as the herbarium section has moved to the National Museum in Kuala Lumpur.

The Muzium Darul Ridzuan is located in Ipoh, north of the padang and St Michael's Institution. It is housed in a villa built in 1926 for a wealthy Chinese tin miner.

In those days it was a government building, and then during the Emergency in the 1950s that followed from World War II, the building was used as the headquarters of the Home Guard. In 1991, it was converted into a museum and opened for public following year.

Some people find it less interesting than the Taiping museum, and say the displays are not inspiring. This is because the museum only really has two main sections, tin mining and forestry. The purpose of the museum is to preserve the mining history and forestry from the Ipoh area, and to retain relics from these historical heritages.

I have an interest in tin mining and the downstairs displays show the history of this once thriving industry. Ipoh is often referred to as "the town built on tin" and "the city of millionaires," both names relating to the tin industry and those who made it rich.

The displays do show other things than tin. You can read up on the history of the city of Ipoh, see the keris or sword collection, and learn about the Perak royal family and see objects from their personal collections, including some old royal vehicles.

Upstairs features the section on forestry. Outside there are two concrete air-raid shelters in the garden, erected in 1941.

There are more exhibits on tin mining alongside the building, where you can see items used by the miners to extract and process the alluvial gold. The museum holds occasional temporary exhibitions which could be quite interesting.

The objectives of these two museums are to protect and display the world of Perak's culture, its history, flora and fauna. They also provide research opportunities as well as help promote tourism.

The Brunei Times

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