Executive Summary of Asian Heritage Museum Project

Background

A unique and diverse collection of Asian & geological artefacts was legally secured via a KL High Court order in 2010 in lieu of large debts owed to our group from an US explorer. Our museum company, instead of selling off the artefacts to make a quick gain or recovery of money owed, decided to set up an INNOVATIVE & WORLD CLASS museum in KL.

What's so special about our artefacts?

We only have about 2,000 pieces (not many by museums' standards) but several of our artefacts, are world class or "one-of-its-kind" in the world. Examples are:

- largest antique drums in the world, 300-year old and 12-ft tall Malay/Muslim drums

- 2 large antique South East Asian sailing ships

- shipwrecked recovered 500-kg Spanish Mission Bell, made in the Philippines, dated 1784 (a legacy of  Christopher Columbus) which was designated for a mission in California, where the history of the state started,

- extremely old and rare Chinese jade, bronze and ceramic artefacts  including a 7.5kg Han jade Pixiu, 4.4kg Shang jade urn, 53kg unique Ming Buddha, 29kg Shang bronze cauldron and an Eastern Chou/Warring States bronze sword with gold inlaid.

Our collection of artefacts is priceless. The images of most of our artefacts are also available via our website at: http://terrazenenterprise.blogspot.com/

In May 2010, we made a public donation of 28 pieces of our artefacts to our National Museum (Muzium Negara) on the request of the Federal Government as a philanthropic gesture of goodwill. This act also shows that our collection of artefacts must be legal and authentic.

Objectives of project

The objectives of the government-supported project are to promote multi-culturalism, regional heritage and peace (which many companies and people just take for granted). The project also aims to promote the tourism industry and make KL the cultural-heritage centre of Asean and Asia.

Special objective - Promoting Peace 

We also intend to establish a Heritage & Peace Council (HPC) of eminent local and international personalities to use cultural heritage to prevent or minimise conflicts and promote peace in the region. There would be regular forums and talks at the museum in this respect.

People involved

Tunku Zain Al-'Abidin Muhriz (Negri Sembilan) is the Executive Advisor, Director and shareholder. KK Tan is the CEO, Director and a shareholder and Hamidon Taib is the Co-ordinating Adviser & a stakeholder.  The Honorary Advisors are Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (Deputy Home Minister), Tan Sri Michael Chen and Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam.  Azmi Anshar (formerly from the new Straits Times) is our new Media Advisor. Other VIPs are also involved in various roles including advisory.

We also have a team of competent management personnel and have secured the special expertise needed for the project such as world-class British Curator Dr Louise Tythacott (former Curator of Liverpool National Museum and now with the School of Oriental & African Studies, London), museum ID specialist (Impact Design Associates), artefacts' experts and our Malaysian Nuclear Agency (scientific testing of age of artefacts).

Project location (Malacca)  

We're targeting foreign and out-of-state tourists (about 15 million last year) and we only need 500,000 per annum to be financially viable. Malacca State Government is keen to locate our museum there to boost the state economy via tourism and other spin-offs. We would like to show the world, via a "mock-up living model" that our special and innovative museum works, can attract a large and regular crowd, is extremely viable and it can send positive shock waves to the region and world.

What's so innovative or special about our museum project?

It's a story-based and research museum with 7 galleries (initially) telling interesting historical stories and events of Asia. We are using multimedia as much as possible to tell the stories in an interesting and interactive manner. To further make the museum more appealing (and unlike other museums), we would allow visitors to touch and feel certain large artefacts, as long as it is safe and secure to do so. This would generate excitement with many visitors touching (and taking selfies of) certain iconic and priceless artefacts.

We intend to expand later on into an Asian Heritage VILLAGE project to promote other heritage items which Asia is famous for such as martial arts, food, costumes, building & architecture, arts & crafts and music & dances.

Secrets of success of our project

It's a blue ocean strategy project with no real competitors in the country, region and perhaps anywhere in the world. It has great CSR public interest objectives. The other 2 trade secrets are:

- our gift shop merchandise (good profit margins due to Intellectual Property control by us of our artefacts' design and images) 

- local tourist guides, who are crying out for high quality tourist products in KL and would love to support and promote our project to their tourist clients.

Current project status & funding required

To start a world-class museum from scratch can cost more than USD500 million (mostly on building and purchasing artefacts), that is provided, there are even enough museum quality artefacts available to purchase. We have spent much time, effort and money to develop this project for the last 5 years or so to this stage, where all the main components of the project are ready.

We only need a suitable building at a strategic location and some nominal funds (which we have already secured) to kick start the project on a “Field of Dreams” (movie by Kevin Costner) concept.

September 2015