KUALA MUDA, Dec 26 – The Tsunami Gallery located at Kota Kuala Muda here has become a ‘white elephant’ as it has not been opened to the public since it was built in 2006. Caretaker Kassim Abdul Majid said the gallery which was set up to remember the devastating Tsunami that caused human casualties in many countries, would just go to waste if it was not utilized properly.
He said the villagers here have been asking he when is it going to open, but he have only been assigned to take care of this place, if anything, you should ask the authorities. He told this to the reporters when met at the gallery recently. The Tsunami which occurred on December 26, 2004, also claimed the lives of 11 people in Kedah, 10 of them from Kuala Muda.
He said currently, the gallery would only be opened if there was a special request, such as school visits, but a request letter must first be submitted to the Sungai Petani Municipal Council (MPSPK). The gallery is located right next to the Tsunami Monument, housing paintings related to the tragedy and information regarding Tsunami, while outside the gallery, several houses that were destroyed by the tidal waves during the tsunami have been turned into a memorial site.
“The tsunami which occurred here could actually be able to change the landscape of the area and at the same time, generate income for the locals. If the area can be developed like Pantai Merdeka and Pantai Murni in Yan, the bushes which block the sea-view are cleared, the route along the roads upgraded, parking space is provided, gardens spruced up, then visitors could come here for recreation purposes,” said Kuala Muda Fishermen’s Association chairman Mohammad Kamal.
“The Tsunami monument and gallery which were set up a few years ago now looked almost abandoned, without any maintenance. This beach has a great sea-view, we can even see the neighboring island of Penang from here, if some land is reclaimed and footpaths created, of course, the atmosphere around here would be more attractive and bring in more visitors, especially during Discover Kedah 2016,” he said.
Meanwhile, MPSPK’s Tourism officer Mohd Amin Ali when contacted by Bernama informed that although the exterior of the Tsunami gallery had been completed, there was still a shortage of exhibits, preventing it from being opened to the public. He said it is not open to the public because right now there are only paintings on the walls, they have to upgrade the exhibits before opening.
The gallery, he said, was handed over to MPSPK by the State Economic Planning Unit (EPU) in around 2007, however, due to financial constraints and the lack of exhibits, it remained closed until now. He said the local council was trying to breathe new life into the gallery and had decided to look at the Aceh Tsunami Museum for ideas. He added that maybe in January they will be going to Aceh to see how the Tsunami museum is operating there and they will collect some ideas and materials for our gallery.
