DECISION ON NIAH CAVE AS A UNESCO SITE DUE THIS MONTH - ABDUL KARIM

KUCHING, July 11 (Bernama) -- The decision on Sarawak's application to list the Niah Caves in Miri, located 628 kilometres from here in the northern part of the state, as a World Heritage Site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) will known at the end of this month.

Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Creative Industries and Performing Arts Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah is optimistic that the Niah Caves will be able to get UNESCO recognition considering that they were  once inhabited by prehistoric humans about 65,000 years ago.

“We (Sarawak) have reached the end of the journey to get international recognition for Niah Caves. The body under UNESCO (Intergovernmental World Heritage Committee) will make the announcement at the end of this month (July) in New Delhi. Our representatives will be present there and from the feedback received, it shows that we will (likely) get the recognition,” he told Bernama.

He said if Sarawak succeeds in getting the recognition of a UNESCO Heritage, Niah Caves will be another tourism product that will bring great benefits to the tourism sector to further strengthen Malaysia's cultural and historical heritage in the eyes of the world.

Abdul Karim, who is also Sarawak Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development, said this during a special interview with the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here.

“The Niah Caves hold a high sentimental value and easily accessible by road from Miri city, only taking about an hour and-a-half, and a short walk.

“This gives an opportunity to local people, including from the Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak themselves, to see a treasure of the world,” he said.

Abdul Karim explained earlier that records show that Homo sapiens (humans) lived in Niah Caves 40,000 years ago, but with new technology and the latest research done by the Sarawak Museum and the University of New South Wales, Australia, it shows that humans have inhabited Niah Caves for much longer.

The Miri division will be one of the nine locations in Sarawak for the 21st Malaysia Games (SUKMA XXI) which is scheduled to take place from Aug 17-24.

-- BERNAMA