BBYB 2019

218

Borneo Bulletin Yearbook 2019

Brunei Museum

The Brunei Museum is Brunei’s national museum.

Located in Kota Batu and completed in 1970, the

museum was officially opened on February 29,

1972 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the

United Kingdom. The museum showcases not

only Brunei’s history but also Southeast Asian

history, dating back to the 1500s during Spain

and Portugal’s arrival, in addition to an Islamic art

gallery and a natural history gallery.

The museum features archaeological artefacts

including ceramics from Iran and Central Asia,

blown glass pieces from Egypt and the Levant

dating all the way back to the ninth and 10

centuries. Furthermore, the museum also displays

manuscripts of the Holy Quran and jewellery and

Chinese ceramics recovered from Brunei waters.

The Brunei Museum is currently closed

for refurbishment

Malay Technology Museum

Located in Kota Batu, the Malay Technology

Museum is known to display traditional activities

such as handicraft, fishing and other traditional

hunting techniques, cloth weaving, boat

construction, sago production and stilt architecture.

These activities illustrate the traditional lifestyle

and practices of Brunei’s Malay and indigenous

ethnic groups.

The displays are allocated across three different

galleries: The first exemplify the traditional houses

in Kampong Ayer as inhabited by Malays; the

second showcases traditional technology as used

in Kampong Ayer and the third gallery focuses on

indigenous ethnic groups such as Dusun, Murut

and Kedayan of the inland villages by depicting

their technologies and crafts.

Opening hours:

Sun to Thurs: 9am – 5pm

Fri: 9am – 11:30am and 2:30pm – 5pm

Sat: 9:45am – 5pm

The Royal Regalia Building

The Royal Regalia Building was built in 1992. It

houses a collection of royal memorabilia, including

the royal chariot, ceremonial armoury, the jewel-

encrusted crowns used during His Majesty Sultan

Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah

ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien

Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-

Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam’s coronation and

a replica of the throne used by the Sultan on

state occasions. The Royal Regalia Building

was established in commemoration of the Silver

Jubilee of His Majesty’s ascension to the throne

in 1992.

The Royal Regalia Building houses several

galleries, namely the Royal Regalia Exhibition, the

Royal Exhibition Gallery, the Perpuspaan Gallery,

the Silver Jubilee Gallery and the Constitutional

History Gallery. The building was officially declared

an Asean Landmark on August 8, 2017.

Opening hours:

Sun to Thurs: 9am – 5pm

Fri: 9am – 11:30am and 2:30 pm – 5pm

Sat: 9:45am – 5pm

MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL SITES