The Archaeological Heritage of Niah National Park’s Cave Complex in Sarawak was inscribed as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site during the 46th Session of the World Heritage Committee Meeting held in Delhi, India from 21st. and 31st. July 2024. With this prestigious inscription, Malaysia now has 5 World Heritage Sites, the other 4 being Kinabalu Park, Mulu National Park, George Town and Melaka (serial nomination) and Lenggong Archeological Valley. It was a momentous occasion and a proud achievement for Malaysia and Sarawak in particular especially because the last inscription was achieved 12 years ago (Lenggong).
The journey towards World Heritage inscription began in 2019 when the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) appointed the Tourism Planning Research Group (TPRG) at Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying (FABU) to prepare the mandatory nomination dossier for Niah’s candidacy. After an arduous and participatory process involving all key stakeholders, the completed dossier was officially submitted by Department of National Heritage to UNESCO Paris. A rigorous assessment process then followed, conducted by UNESCO, International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the World Heritage Committee. Finally, on 27 July 2024, the World Heritage Committee meeting in Delhi accepted the dossier without amendments thus officially inscribing Niah Caves as a cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The nomination and successful inscription of the Niah Cave Complex was contingent on the acceptance of the nomination dossier. Towards this end TPRG played a pivotal role not only in producing the dossier but also in ensuring buy in from all stakeholders through a participatory and inclusive process. This monumental effort that stretched over 2 years was led by Prof. Amran Hamzah and his team from FABU comprising Dr. Nadzirah Hosen, Mr. Yong Jia Yaik, Prof. Mohammad Rafee Majid, Mr. Rosli Nooruddin, Mrs. Nur Hasimah Baharudin, Ms. Nur Aqila Alias, and Mrs. Norjanah Mohd Bakri.
Article by Nadzirah Hosen