KUCHING: The Alfred Russel Wallace Point will be developed in Santubong and allocation had been approved to open up the Wallace Centre and Wallace-Ali Centre, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi (Dr) Abang Johari Tun Openg.
He added that the Wallace-Ali centre would be linked to the Natural History Museum in London and would interlace with Darwin Centre.
Abang Johari disclosed that he had directed the Museum Department to portray Ali as a local Malay from Kampung Ja’e in Simunjan, who was Wallace’s translator, collector and consultant as well as someone who had contributed to Wallace’s theory of evolution.
Alfred Russel Wallace, a British naturalist, geographer, anthropologist, collector, is best known for developing the evolution theory through natural selection independently of Charles Darwin. Wallace had travelled to the Malay Archipelago including Sarawak, where he befriended James Brooke and Ali.
“We will develop Wallace Point in Santubong and we had already approved the allocation to open the Wallace Centre and Wallace-Ali Centre. We will link it to the Natural History Museum in London and also interlace it with Darwin Centre,” said the Chief Minister during the launching of Sarawak Arts Congress 2018 at Pullman Hotel here yesterday.
Abang Johari added that there were evidences that the children of the archipelago were capable of identifying products found on the face of the archipelago.
“Therefore, art activists and the government under my leadership will emphasise on arts with the huge allocation. We will revive artistic culture,” he said.
He also disclosed that the old State Legislative Assembly (DUN) building would be transformed into a Performing Arts Centre and consultants have been appointed.
“We will have an arts centre located within historic places – Wisma Bapa Malaysia, the new DUN building and Astana.