SIBU: Sarawak is setting aside a sum of RM250mil to set up an archive for official state records, documents, studies and references, including bringing back those that are still being kept abroad.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said the state had some heritage material in countries overseas which it would like to take back and store in the archive.
“We have to store them in a safe place so that they will not be destroyed – particularly by nature and bad weather conditions, he said.
“I went to London (in 2017) and saw the original copy of the 1963 Malaysia Agreement in London. We also have other documents and data outside the state which are related to state matters,” he said.
The archive, once set up, he said, would be linked digitally to libraries in the state such as Kuching, Sibu and Miri.
Johari said the Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) would also be keeping books and documents in digital form and hardcopy.
“We can’t run away from the digital world as it has become part and parcel of the whole idea of developing our library,” he said. -The star