KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysia Police Museum has reopened its doors to the public after the building was given a facelift.
Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador said upgrading work on the museum, which began since the beginning of the Movement Control Order (MCO), was completed on Jan 28 and the reopening would be in strict compliance with standard operating procedures as stipulated by the National Security Council (MKN).
Among the upgrades included were repairing and repainting the museum’s main building as well as beautifying the Dataran Perwira in front of the main building, which now houses the keris and tengkolok (Malay headgear for men) monument as a landmark to honour the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) fighters.
“The idea to upgrade Dataran Perwira came from a high sense of love and affection for the police force’s history and artefacts, and I wish to express my appreciation for the sacrifices of our fallen warriors.
“More proudly, the names of all 1,180 heroes who were killed in defending the country during emergency around 1948-1960 and 1968-1990 are engraved in Dataran Perwira,” he told Bernama today.
The PDRM armoured cars displayed at the museum were also restored by repainting and they also have new roofs donated by the Al-Bukhary Foundations and two other firms.
For the record, the PDRM Museum was built in the 1950s, with the original building located at the Kuala Lumpur Police Training Centre (Pulapol) and was officiated by the 3rd Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Syed Putra Ibni Almarhum Syed Hassan Jamalullail on Jan 9, 1961 for educational purposes for police trainees.
To accommodate the growing number of artefacts, former IGP Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar proposed moving the museum to a new location and the construction on the site began on Feb 18, 1993, at the Mess Vanning building.
The museum, which was officially opened on July 24, 1999, houses over 3,000 artefacts, including a 300-year-old British-made flintlock pistol and Portuguese coins that are over 500 years old.
Located in Jalan Perdana here, the museum is open to the public from 10 am to 6 pm daily, except Mondays. — Bernama
