DEPUTY YDP AGONG LAUNCHES PERAK MUSEUM'S 135TH ANNIVERSARY

TAIPING, Nov 24 (Bernama) – The Deputy Yang diPertuan Agong Sultan Nazrin Shah consented to launching the 135th anniversary celebration of the Perak Museum, here today.

Also present were the Raja Permaisuri of Perak Tuanku Zara Salim, Perak Regency Council chairman Raja Muda Perak Raja Jaafar Raja Muda Musa and Raja DiHilir Perak Raja Iskandar Dzulkarnain Sultan Idris Shah.

Also present were Tourism, Arts and Culture deputy Minister Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik, Department of Museums Malaysia deputy director-general (Museology) Mohd Azmi Mohd Yusoff, State Religious and Islamic Education, Rural and Entrepreneur Development chairman Asmuni Awi and state exco line-up.

Muhammad Bakhtiar said the Perak Museum was one of the museums that contributed to the tourism industry, which up to last year, saw 202,774 local and foreign visitors visiting the museum.

"As of Oct 31 this year, 136,224 people have visited the museum," he said.

According to Muhammad Bakhtiar, the tourism industry contributed 14.9 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or RM201.4 billion in 2017.

"Given the importance of this sector in generating national income, the Ministry is committed to bring in more than 30 million foreign tourists who will contribute RM100 billion to the country's economy by 2020," he said.

He also suggested that museums created and diversify tourism products to attract visitors by making history a tourism heritage product.

The Perak Museum was officially built on Jan 1, 1883 and is the first museum institution established in Malaysia and the earliest in Southeast Asia.

-- BERNAMA