STATE executive councillor Jagdeep Singh Deo has proposed that a Sikh museum, the first-ever in Malaysia, to be built in Penang.
He said he would suggest the establishment of the museum once the rehabilitation of the Penang Wadda Gurdwara Sahib in Jalan Gurdwara in George Town was completed in two years.
“On this Vaisakhi Day today, due to the immense contributions by the Sikh community, we should have a museum to commemorate Sikhs from the very day they came to Penang to protect the people of Penang and Malaysia.
“We were the frontliners. We talk about the frontliners during the pandemic. We were the frontliners then.
“And I think we deserve to have that museum. We will concentrate on the rehabilitation project of the gurdwara and I will pursue further on this new agenda to have a museum to commemorate all the contributions of our Sikhs, our Sikh warriors, our Sikh heroes, our frontliners in Penang and Malaysia.
“And we will do it here in Penang,” said Jagdeep during a press conference at the Karpal Singh Memorial Hall inside the gurdwara today.
He was there to celebrate Vaisakhi with the Sikh community and also to check on the progress of the rehabilitation works of the gurdwara, which is now almost 120 years old having been built in 1903. It is considered a Category One heritage building and is also one of the oldest gurdwaras, if not the oldest gurdwara, in Malaysia.
Others present included the gurdwara’s patron Datin Seri Utama Gurmit Kaur (who is Jagdeep’s mother), project chairman Datuk Seri Mahinder Singh, project secretary Datuk Malkit Singh, project committee member Surinder Singh and project consultant in architectural heritage Dr Gwynn Jenkins.
Jagdeep said when the Sikhs came to Penang, their first place was at Fort Cornwallis which is now undergoing renovation and rehabilitation.
There were several rooms inside the fort, one of which Jagdeep said he was made to understand, was a prayer room for the Sikhs.
“The Sikh community is small but its strength is big. We’ve a lot of professionals and they play an important role in the country.
“We are continuing the work for the good of Malaysia. During this pandemic, there are people who have no food and we ensure that the people are fed, irrespective of race and religion. This is done by Sikhs throughout the world. That is in our blood,” Jagdeep added.
Mahinder said they hope the National Heritage Department would recognise the Penang Wadda Gurdwara Sahib as a national heritage site.
He said the initial budget for refurbishment and rehabilitation was RM3.5 million but it has been estimated now at RM5 million due to the rising cost of materials and the many things in the building that they discovered unexpectedly that need repairs.
Mahinder also thanked the Penang government for its support of the rehabilitation project to restore it to its former glory.
Jenkins, who is from Wales, said the conservation work was daunting but yet exciting.
“The beauty of this project is that we’ve learnt a lot from the past. There were materials that were put on at that time were thought to be right materials and now we realise that they were wrong materials.
“We’ve to be very careful that we don’t treat them with the wrong things. It’s like replacing our skin with a piece of plastic. It just doesn’t work.
“When people start using lime plaster as well as correct tiles it would be fantastic.
“It is a huge responsibility and an enormous honour for me to be working on this project. I am thrilled and I will my utmost best,” said Jenkins, adding that the gurdwara was a zero carbon building built well ahead of its time.
She added that there were indications of a dome and the committee would like to build it with the approval of the authorities.
Gurmit said the restoration work of the gurdwara was a project close to her heart.
She also thanked the state government and public for their support of the project and she was hopeful of a successful completion.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Law Suun Ting