SEREMBAN: President of the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong) Tan Sri T.C Goh has hoped that the Sabah state government could allocate a piece of state land for the proposed construction of the Sabah Chinese Assembly Hall building.
He said the proposed plan would also include the setting up of a cultural centre, which is in line with Huazong’s policy of encouraging Chinese assembly halls in every state to set up their own heritage museum.
Goh who is also President of the Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS) said the proposed heritage museum will exhibit the rich and unique cultures of Sabah.
He said this while speaking at the dinner cum handing over of Huazong’s cash aid of RM25,000 for the flood victims, which was held here on Thursday. Also present at the occasion were Wong Keng Tong, President of the Negeri Sembilan Chinese Assembly Hall (NSCAH), its deputy president Teo Kim Seong* its vice president Yvonne Chong Yan Moy, Huazong Central Committee members Dato’ Ng Chin Heng and Dato’ Lee Teck Hua, among others.
Earlier, Goh was also given a tour of the Negeri Sembilan Chinese Heritage Museum (NSCHM) set up at the Negeri Sembilan Chinese Assembly Hall (NSCAH) by the host. He also commended the NSCHA leaderships for their dedication and efforts in putting up such a vast and rich cultural and historical exhibition concerning the local Chinese community.
He noted that the NSCHM is the second of such nature in the country, besides the Malaysian Chinese Museum set up by the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (SCAH) that is currently housed in Wisma Huazong.
He thus encouraged the other Chinese assembly halls in the country to consider emulating NSCAH and SCAH to set up their own heritage museum, and to manage it professionally. He believed such a move could better promote the culture of various races and the history of nation building.
“In this regard, we in FCAS are currently lobbying for the state government to allocate a piece of state land for the purpose of constructing the Sabah Chinese Assembly Hall building. If it materializes, we would proceed to set up a similar heritage museum within the building,” he said.
Meanwhile, he also hoped that the annual Malaysian Chinese Cultural Festival, which was initiated by Huazong, could be hosted within this year. This year, it is the NSCHA’s turn to host the said festival which is in its 37th year.
He noted that the hosting of the said festival has been postponed for the last two years, following the series of movement control orders (MCO) implemented by the government nationwide, in March 2020, after the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
