Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah visited the industrial vocational centre for ‘Songket Sarawak Prison Department’ (Sarapride) at Puncak Borneo Prison Complex yesterday.

It was a part of the itinerary of Her Majesty’s three-day official working visit to Sarawak, which would conclude today.

At the Sarapride facility, Tunku Azizah took the opportunity to observe the processes involved in making songket, a Malay traditional hand-woven textile.

She also stopped by at the Sarapride Songket Gallery at the prison complex.

In a statement issued in connection with the royal visit, Malaysian Prisons Department commissioner-general Datuk Nordin Muhamad said the Sarawak government would construct a new building to facilitate the development of the songket heritage, once a suitable site had been identified.

“For this purpose, the state government has set an allocation of RM6 million.

“Moreover, the state government has already provided RM50,000 to the Prisons Department Sarawak to improve its songket-weaving workshop and also for the procurement of raw materials,” he said.

After the visit to the Puncak Borneo Prison Complex, Tunku Azizah proceeded to India Street Pedestrian Mall and Borneo Cultures Museum.

The Queen arrived in Kuching on Monday, and was welcomed by wife of Premier of Sarawak, Datuk Amar Juma’ani Tuanku Bujang; Minister of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah; Deputy Minister in Sarawak Premier’s Department (Law, Malaysia Agreement 1963 and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali; and Deputy State Secretary Datu Dr Sabariah Putit.

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by SAM CHUA

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