Opened only in 2005, Singapore’s Malay Heritage Centre located in the previous Palace of the Singapore Sultan has been redeveloped with a particular focus on community development.
SINGAPORE – Travellers and locals will now be able to rediscover the rich legacy of the Malay community from a fresh perspective as the Malay Heritage Centre (MHC) re-opens its doors to the public on September 2, following a year of redevelopment works. Its new focus is on Kampong Gelam’s history –where the museum is located- as a bustling port town integral to the development of the Malay community as well as Singapore’s connections to the region.
When opened in 2005, MHC focus was mainly on the exposition of customs and traditions from the Malay community. But today, the centre is now more centered about the history of the area and the related development of communities.
The redevelopment is part of a 2008 initiative which repositions the MHC alongside Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall and the proposed Indian Heritage Centre as platforms to showcase key aspects of the respective communities and to highlight the Malay, Chinese and Indian communities links to their wider cultures.
The National Heritage Board (NHB) manages the three centres since 2009 in order to raise the standards of these institutions to the same standards than the ones at Singapore’s national museums.
There is of course a historical background behind the need expressed by the Government to upgrade these educational facilities. In the past, some Singapore citizens raised their concern about “mild discrimination signs” from the Chinese dominant ethnic towards Singapore’s two other ethnics, Malay and Indians. With a rising migrant workforce into Singapore over the last decade, tensions emerged from first immigrated generations. The need for recognition from locals became increasingly blatant.
Reshaping the content of communities’ museums will help Singapore to show that all ethnics living in the city have equally contributed to its prosperity and are all vital elements of its dynamism. The upgrading of these institutions is definitively a way to show also the State’s interest to foster the community’s spirit among all “historical” ethnics.
Developed with input and contributions from the community, the revamped MHC features new content, updated facilities, as well as never-seen-before artefacts from the community and Singapore’s National Collection. The MHC re-opening ceremony was officiated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong who first launched the centre in 2005.
The official re-opening ceremony for MHC is followed by the launch of MHC’s Malay CultureFest, which will showcase Malay arts and culture through programmes and performances held over the month of September 2012. To commemorate MHC‟s re-opening, free entry for the public will be offered throughout the month of September 2012.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
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