The Heritage Economy & The Muzium Telegraf
The refurbished Muzium Telegraf. Image courtesy Telekom Malaysia
Telekom Malaysia (TM) launched the Muzium Telegraf in the historical city of Taiping in July, 2018. IZLYN RAMLI, Vice President of Group Branding and Communication at Telekom Malaysia tells us about operating the group’s heritage efforts, her views on the heritage economy and how TM is taking advantage of technology to enhance the museum experience.
Taiping is home to many heritage buildings, and boasts many firsts including the nation’s first hospital, police station, railway station and wet market. The Taiping Heritage Trail, officially launched by the state government in 2015 features over 25 buildings of interest, and this year, saw an exciting addition in the form of the Muzium Telegraf.
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The Telegraph Museum is certainly not Telekom Malaysia’s first. The Muzium Telekom in Kuala Lumpur is housed in a neo-classical building, constructed in 1928 with towering Greek columns, typical of the colonial architectural style in Kuala Lumpur of that time. The museum features interactive exhibits surrounding telecommunications history from the early forms of communications in the country such as the Batu Bersurat, all the way to high speed broadband.
Similarly, the Muzium Telegraf building in Taiping used to be the telecommunications headquarters in the late 1800s, and is the second telecommunications-related historical building in the country. The Taiping heritage trail’s official status prompted the making of the Muzium Telegraf, which otherwise would have been a solo heritage endeavour. It’s also the second heritage project under the auspices of Yayasan TM.
This story was originally published in the now-defunct Think City Channel.
