Happy New Year 2011

Welcome to 2011 at the Museum!

We had our first committee meeting of the year today, and there is plenty in store for you all. The newsletter will be out shortly, and coming up we have a pot luck lunch for Chinese New Year, and the graduation of the new training group. Also, there will be a “Night at the Museum” in conjunction with French Week in March, and a series of lectures for all members (both new graduates and old hands)

More immediately, we need more feedback and involvement from all our members for our daily free tours, schools programme and research programme. Look out for a note in your email box on this.

If you are not involved in MV and are thinking of starting our 2011 training programme in September, please click on the tab “2011 training” at the top of the page. We look forward to welcoming you on board.

New Museums Opening

New museum branch to woo tourists

2010/09/20
By Danny Ooi
news@nst.com.my

Sisters Amira Hasual Jamal (left), Ainina (second from left) and Adela (right)

take a closer look at a painting in the new branch of the Penang State Museum

and Art Gallery at Jalan Macalister, Penang. Looking on is student from Iran,

Leila Kakaabdollahshiraz. – NST picture by GS Narinder Singh

GEORGE TOWN: Locals and tourists will soon have an extra venue to explore the island’s rich heritage and artifacts.This is made possible with the opening of the state’s museum and art gallery’s new branch in Jalan Macalister here on Saturday.

State museum board chairman Wong Hon Wai said the opening of the new branch marked a new chapter in the history of the state’s museum.

“It is our vision to make use of this new place to further promote the history and arts of our state.

“We hope to have something unique, something vibrant and something extraordinary, to compliment our existing museum in Lebuh Farquhar,

” he said at the signing and handover ceremony of the building between the state museum board and the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP).

The state’s museum was represented by Wong and MPPP by its president Patahiyah Ismail.

Wong said it would take between three and five years to fully equip the new place with collections of the island’s heritage and artifacts.

He said visits to various museums in the world, such as the Pearl Harbour Memorial in Hawaii, the War Museum in Hiroshima, Japan and the Palace

Museum in Taipei, Taiwan, had given him new insights about the countries’ history and livelihood of its people.

The state museum and art galley was established in 1964 at Lebuh Farquhar.

In 1994, the art gallery was moved to Dewan Sri Pinang.

Penang Heritage

Tuesday November 23, 2010

Heritage site to reopen

By WINNIE YEOH
winnie@thestar.com.my

New attraction: The Logan Heritage on Beach Street used to be the workplace of a prominent lawyer James Richardson Logan in the

1980s. A 140-YEAR-OLD building on Beach Street, Penang, that was restored at a cost of RM6.8mil will be opened to the public next

month. The Logan’s Building, which is now known as the Logan Heritage, is a two-storey building owned by the OCBC Bank and it has

23 office units with a built-up area of 3,994.8sq metres. Painted in beige, it sits majestically at the junction of Beach Street, Union Street

and Bishop Street. The building used to be the workplace of a prominent lawyer James Richardson Logan in the 1860s. He and his elder

brother, Abraham came from Edinburgh, Scotland, to the Straits Settlement of Penang in the 1840s. They both practised law in Singapore

before migrating to Penang in the 1860s. It is said that Logan was loved by the local residents then as he was devoted to justice and knowledge.

Apparently, he had on some occasions defended the needy on a pro bono basis at no cost to them. Originally, a grand three-storey building

with cast iron balconies, it was later reduced to two storeys. It also has an inner courtyard within the premises. The last occupant on the

ground floor was Barkath Store before the building was closed for restoration early this year. The restoration project was conceived by

OCBC Bank which spent RM5mil while Kuala Lumpur-based TecCentury Sdn Bhd, which is a property management company, spent RM1.8mil.

TecCentury executive director Joe Kan Weng Hoe said the building would be officially opened on Dec 17. It shall boast a variety of food

and beverages outlets, a foreign currency exchange facility, a gadgets’ shop, a convenience store besides smaller commercial interests.

“We also hope to promote tourism with a uniqueness of Penang Heritage through this pre-war building. We also hope to turn the premises

into a food and beverage hub coupled with light entertainment for bankers in the area,” he said during a briefing tour yesterday.

Kan also said that a hall was also set up to be a briefing spot on Penang’s heritage.“We will work closely with the George Town World

Heritage Inc to invite all schools in Penang to Logan Heritage for free briefings. “Our main objective is to embrace Penang’s heritage

and we have different concepts for this building. It is also a good stop for tourists to enjoy its rich heritage value,” he said.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng who visited the building yesterday, praised the efforts of the bank and the company in meeting the heritage

guidelines of the Penang Municipal Council.

Branch of the Penang State Museum

Tuesday September 21, 2010

Restored building to house museum

A HERITAGE building on Macalister Road near Komtar in George Town has been turned into a branch of the Penang state museum. The 98-year-old building at 57 Macalister Road was in a derelict state for 15 years before the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) started renovating it in 2001. The Penang International Print Exhibition 2010 is now being held at 57, Jalan Macalister.

Council president Patahiyah Ismail said due to the building’s heritage category 2 classification, the RM6.5 million renovation work took six years before it was completed at the end of 2007. “Time was needed to carefully scrape the previous layers of paints and look for the original tiles,” she said, adding that the building was now sporting its original colour. Penang Town and Country Planning, Housing and Arts Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai, who is also the state museum board’s chairman, said it would take time to promote the building. “It will take us three to five years to have a good collection of artefacts and collection. However, we will continue our efforts to make this museum an important education source for Penangites and tourists,” he said. Museum director Haryany Mohamad said no entry fee would be charged for the moment but it would be imposed when there is a good collection of exhibits at the double-storey building. She expected the entry fee to be higher than the RM1 per person charged at the museum on Farquhar Street.

The Penang International Print Exhibition 2010 is currently being held at the Macalister Road building. It will end on Oct 16. Haryany said the Penang state art gallery would also use the building to showcase artwork and organise activities involving visual arts. The MPPP handed over the building to the state museum board in a ceremony last Saturday, which was witnessed by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. The building was first used as the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital from 1915 to 1955 when the hospital moved to its present premises on Jalan Residensi. Lim hoped that the heritage building could become a tool to promote Penang as a vibrant and cultural heritage city. “I hope that this building will be a museum that can personify our unique culture and heritage with its artefacts and exhibitions. “We want unorthodox and dynamic displays that can attract the younger generation,” he said in his speech during the handing over ceremony on Saturday.

Farquhar’s Melaka collection of drawings is published

I was just in Singapore and the National Museum of Singapore has published a fabulous book entitled “Natural History Drawings, the complete William Farquhar Collection.” For the first time ever, the 477 drawings of the flora and fauna of the Malay Peninsula commissioned by William Farquhar when he was the British Resident and Commandant of Melaka from 1803 to 1818, have been published in one volume.

In 1826, these drawings were donated by Farquhar to the Royal Asiatic Society in London, which then auctioned them for sale in 1993. A Singaporean, Mr Goh Geok Khim, purchased them and then presented the full set of drawings to Singapore’s National Heritage Board in 1996.

Putrajaya’s Secret Garden

In the Putrajaya Botanical Gardens, there is the most remarkable Moroccan Pavillion. I found it by chance when I visited with my parents. It is stuck down in the corner, between the carpark and the lake and it is a total gem of Moroccan Islamic architecture, with several beautiful rooms around a courtyard. The RM3 entrance fee is most definitely worth it, and its almost worth driving all the way to Putrajaya just to see it. I could find out very little about its history, so please email me at lorienholland@me.com if you have any information.

Day trip to Ipoh

Day trip to Ipoh by Marie Tseng

Right before Hayley Holle’s departure for England in August, a small group of MV members set off on a day trip to Ipoh – Seeting, Diane, Hayley and myself.

Our trip started in Kelly’s Castle where we were warmly welcomed by the curator/guard of the castle. The unfinished castle has been recently restored to enable visitors to visit safely almost every accessible part of the building.From the roof, you have a great view of the surrounding plantations. We continued on with a visit to the last tin dredge in Malyasia. Having seen the real dredge will definitely enhance our guided tours at the Muzium Negara. Next stop was Batu Gajah, a colonial town that has kept most of its original buildings and a has a very interesting cemetery. After a quick lunch of fresh river prawns, we ended the day by a 3 hour walk in Ipoh.

I would highly recommend this easy trip to all guides. Vera recommended us a great heritage Guide in Ipoh, Mr Law Siak Hong (siakhongstudio@yahoo.com) who met us in Kelly’s castle and took us on a very informative tour of Batu Gajah and Ipoh.

Farewell Lunch June 2010

On June 24, we had a thank you and farewell lunch to several MV volunteers who were leaving Malaysia for other countries. In particular Hayley Holle, who has done so much with the schools programme and been a very active member of MV, and also Alison Fletcher and Marie Bouis who have also been very active.

Our deputy president, Zahara Shariman, most generously hosted lunch at her mother’s house and we ate delicious Malay food.

Both MV President Chrissy Lioe and MV Training Programme Organizer Angela Naylor spoke about the great works that have been achieved so far. The leavers got Malay betel siri sets from the East coast.

Baba Nyonya Wedding

Thursday October 7, 2010

A colourful wedding steeped in tradition

IT had all the trappings of a traditional Baba Nyonya wedding although it was just a demonstration.

The one-hour showcase was complete with traditional costumes, decorated bridal bed, tea ceremony, Nyonya dance and a joget session.

It was beautifully staged by Focal Concepts Sdn Bhd at the central atrium of Queensbay Mall in Penang as part of The Star’s Now & Forever – A Carnival of Love bridal event.

The Peranakan Bridal Showcase started off with the groom’s entourage, comprising five Babas, going on the stage with siah nah (dowry trays) containing jewellery,

a pair of dragon and phoenix candles (hong leng chek in Hokkien), wedding biscuits, rock sugar and charcoal.

The charcoal is to remind the bride to boil water to make tea for her parents-in-law and for them to wash their face in the morning while the rock sugar is to bless her with a sweet marriage.

Five Nyonyas then went on stage with their siah nah containing four pairs of slippers, hong leng chek, wedding biscuits and liquor to exchange dowries with the Babas.

The groom and umbrella man (best man) then led a troupe of sedan chair carriers, banner holders and musicians on a procession to fetch the bride at her ‘house’.

After consuming a birds nest drink, the groom passed his bride the flower ball and led her to take her seat on the sedan chair before the troupe left for his ‘house’.

Full-fledged ritual: (From right) The bride, arriving on the sedan chair, being received by the groom and his entourage during the demonstration at Queensbay Mall yesterday.

During the unveiling ceremony, the bride unbuttoned the groom’s collar button to symbolically undress him while the groom untied her red waist sash that symbolises virginity.

The couple then sat on a bed under which the matron of ceremony placed a basket containing a cock and a hen.

According to traditional belief, if the cock comes out first, it signifies that the first born will be a boy, but if it is the hen that emerges, the first born will be a girl.

The spectators stretched their necks in anticipation. After much prompting and when the hen finally emerged, with feathers shedding, the crowd burst into laughter as the shy cock

remained crouched inside the basket.

Master ofceremony Michael Cheah, who is also Focal Concepts’ Baba Nyonya wedding consultant, said a typical Baba-Nyonya wedding used to last a whole month.

“However, the ceremony is cut short these days with only the key elements being practised, ” he said.

During the tea ceremony, Penang Tourism and Culture Committee chairman Danny Law Heng Kiang, The Star’s regional manager (operations) Chung Chok Yin and his wife were invited

on stage as the ‘parents’ to symbolically launch the bridal event.

Also present were Japanese deputy consul-general Hiroko Matsuo and The Star’s regional editor (North) Choi Tuck Wo.

Law said Penang, with its affordable cost of living, was one of the best wedding destinations for local and foreign couples.

He said the heritage buildings within the George Town World Heritage Site provided unique backdrops for wedding photos, adding that the state’s beautiful beaches were also good for photo

shoots and a perfect place for wedding dinners.

MV Fourth Anniversary Dinner

Around 40 MV members came along to our 4th Anniversary Dinner on October 13 in Precious Restaurant in Central Market. The food was most excellent Nonya cuisine and we were all very happy to welcome in the fifth year of Museum Volunteers. Our president Chrissy Lioe gave a short speech, and called for new MV members to step forward and take up responsibilties in our lovely MV. We have come a long way in a short time!