Penang State Museum to reopen on July 23 after nearly a decade of restoration

GEORGE TOWN, July 16 — The Penang State Museum on Farquhar Street, which has been closed for restoration works since 2017, will finally reopen next week.

State Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said restoration works on the heritage building have finally been completed.

“We will be officially opening the newly upgraded museum on July 23,” he said in his speech at the launch of the Traditional Trades Campaign 2026 here today.

He said July is an appropriate month to reopen the museum as it is also when the state’s heritage celebrations are held, with Heritage Day falling on July 7.

“Two days after that, on July 25, we will also be officially reopening Fort Cornwallis after restoration works,” he added.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and guests from the Aga Khan Trust for Culture are expected to attend the reopening of Fort Cornwallis following the restoration of its moat.

The moat surrounding the fort was originally built in 1804 to protect it during the Napoleonic Wars.

It was filled in in 1921 due to a malaria outbreak, which led to poor drainage and occasional flooding in nearby areas.

Restoration works at Fort Cornwallis, including the reconstruction of the moat, began around 2022.

Water once again fills the restored moat at Fort Cornwallis after conservation works revived a feature that had been filled in more than a century ago. — Picture by Opalyn Mok

The restored moat forms a 4,000-square-metre water basin measuring 0.9 metres deep and capable of holding about 3,600 cubic metres of water.

As for the Penang State Museum, it closed in 2017 for RM18 million in restoration works, with the second phase involving interior restoration beginning in 2024.

The restoration works were suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2023.

Last year, the Penang Public Works Department (JKR) issued a notice of non-compliance to the contractor over delays in the project.

A new contractor was subsequently appointed to complete the remaining works, and JKR handed the museum building over to the Penang State Museum Department on March 9 this year.

The Penang State Museum building has a history spanning about 200 years.

The first phase of the building was constructed in 1896, while the second phase was completed in 1906.

It housed Penang Free School until 1927 before being occupied by Hutchings School until its old wing was destroyed during the Second World War.

The building was repurposed to house the state museum in 1965.