Library Bill to give Pustaka clear mandate for memorial archives, says Huang

SARAWAK must safeguard its historical records to protect its identity and preserve its heritage for future generations, the State Legislative Assembly was told today (Oct 13).

Lingga assemblywoman Dayang Noorazah Awang Sohor said the Sarawak State Library (Amendment) Bill 2026 would strengthen the state’s ability to manage and preserve its historical records under its own institutions.

“A state that guards its records guards its identity,” she said when debating the Bill at the Assembly sitting today.

She said the amendments marked another chapter in Sarawak’s efforts to protect its historical legacy, tracing the journey from the requirement to deposit publications under the Sarawak Museum in 1961, to the establishment of Pustaka Negeri Sarawak in 1999 and the entrustment of public archives and records to the institution in 2009.

Dayang Noorazah said the Bill provided clearer leadership and a broader mission for the state library, while ensuring that its responsibilities remained subject to the safeguards stipulated under the Ordinance.

Addressing concerns over the concentration of authority, she said the legislation contained provisions governing ministerial directions, the disposal of records, and the classification, declassification and accessibility of archives.

She noted that Section 10 required ministerial directions to be consistent with the Ordinance, while Section 18 restricted the destruction or disposal of records except in accordance with regulations. Wherever practical, a copy must first be preserved.

She also highlighted the importance of ensuring that Sarawak’s historical records remained under the state’s stewardship.

“The lesson of the Migrated Archives has been raised in this debate. I agree it is an important lesson. When others held our records, parts of our story were lost,” she said.

“That is precisely why this Bill matters. It ensures that Sarawak’s memory is held by Sarawak, governed by Sarawak, and answerable to this Dewan.”

Dayang Noorazah also welcomed the introduction of memorial archives to commemorate significant individuals, events and former leaders who had shaped the state’s history.

She said the initiative should extend beyond official records to capture the experiences of communities, including the histories preserved in longhouses, family collections and the memories of older generations.

She urged the State Library to work with historians, community leaders, schools and local chiefs to document oral histories before they were lost, and to bring memorial archives to divisions across Sarawak rather than concentrating them in Kuching.

Dayang Noorazah also called for greater public access to historical materials through existing digital initiatives, enabling students and researchers in rural areas to access Sarawak’s history.

She expressed full support for the Bill, saying the state must safeguard the memory that defines its identity while continuing to build for the future.