Australian High Commissioner full of praise for Borneo Cultures Museum

KUCHING (July 17): Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia Danielle Heinecke has sung praises of the Borneo Cultures Museum here, deeming the popular tourist attraction worthy of winning international awards.

The senior diplomat, who is on a two-day official visit here, described the museum as world class and among the best museums she had visited.

“The Borneo Cultures Museum was really amazing, and it is really a world class institution.

“I think it’s one of the best museums I’ve been to and it’s really impressive not only in terms of the research the Museum Department did to create the stories but also the interactive exhibits as well,” she told The Borneo Post in a special interview here today.

Heinecke said her visit to Borneo Cultures Museum was an insightful one where she learned a lot about the history of Sarawak and its indigenous people.

“I found that there’s so many similarities with the Australian indigenous people.

“Many of the customs, some of the arts and some of the dresses that people used were very similar. So, this goes back millions of years,” she said.

She also said that the museum deserves wider recognition.

“During my visit, there were school groups there and to see the children enjoying their visit, and Sarawak getting the museum on the map, I think it should be winning international awards,” she said.

The Borneo Cultures Museum, which is the largest in Malaysia and second largest in Southeast Asia, was one of the places Heinecke visited in her itinerary.

She said her trip this time around has been centred on energy and business investments that could come from the energy sector and education.

“Yesterday, we visited Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, which had a new big injection and new campus, and we also met with the alumni.

“We also met up with the Sarawak-Australia Business Chamber and had a meeting with Deputy Energy and Environmental Sustainability Minister Datuk Dr Hazland Hipni,” she said.

Heinecke will be meeting with Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz Hussain as well as visiting the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre to learn more about its algae research before departing Kuching later today.