In living print
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Malaysia's first printing press museum opens in Malacca
In a move that has delighted everyone interested in the art of printing, Sime Darby Foundation (YSD) has pledged 1.76 million ringgit (Bt17.6 million) to help create the Malaysia’s first living printing press museum at the Royal Press in Malacca’s Jonker Street
The foundation’s chief executive Yatela Zainal Abidin says the partnership with the Royal press marked the first time YSD’s had supported the preservation and creation of a national monument to the age-old tradition of print making.
“The significance of this historic establishment has to be highlighted and publicised, YSD is passionate about protecting the diverse and rich cultural heritage and legacies that are uniquely Malaysian, whilst ensuring their survival in these modern times,” she says.
She said the funding over the next three years would be used to revive, document and create a more informed environment for the distinctive craft of letterpress printing and printmaking for future generations.
YSD’s funding will also cover renovations of some dilapidated parts of the premises including restoration of the original hand-painted wall murals.
Yatela adds that YSD will also support development of guided tours, apprenticeship opportunities, engagements with international poets especially the TS Elliot prize winners and industry experts.
“YSD would like to see TRP becoming a global printmaking centre for books using typesetting and letterpress printing methods and as a research centre for novel approaches and traditional methods in the art of printmaking,” she says.
TRP’s premise will be temporarily closed from next month to facilitate the renovation and is expected to reopen by early 2015.
Founded in 1938 by Ee Lay Swee, TRP survived the Japanese occupation in Malaya in the 1940s but faced its biggest challenge in the 1960s as offset printing technology began booming.
TRP managing director, Ee Soon Wei who is the scion of a multi-generation family of printers, says he is mulling over the idea of rejuvenating TRP with ultimate goal of turning it into a living print museum, emulating the Gutenburg Museum in Germany – the world's oldest printing museum.
He says the YSD sponsorship by YSD will provide much-needed funding to revitalise the craft and facilitate the study of forgotten scripts while also documenting the confluence of different languages that has made Malacca what it is today.
“The study will include cataloguing of archived printed materials, journals, ledgers, wood and lead letter blocks that are made in four principal scripts which are Roman, Chinese, Tamil and Arabic,” he says.
