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Bygone wonder: A sketch of Mendam Berahi berthing at a port during the height of the Malacca Sultanate.
MELAKA: Back in the 1400s, it sailed as far as Rome and China during the heyday of the Malacca Sultanate. Among the consignments it carried were four elephants from then Siam, which were gifted by the Siam King to Malacca.
With a capacity of 500 tonnes and a length of 1,000m, the vessel known as the Mendam Berahi was said to be much larger than the Portuguese galleons.
It will soon be “calling on” the Klebang Maritime Museum – in the form of a replica.
Building a model of the sailboat based on the original design is the latest project of the Melaka Museum Authority (Perzim).
Its manager Datuk Khamis Abas said the construction was expected to take two years with a fund of RM10mil provided by the Tourism and Culture Ministry.
“The size of the replica will be the same as the replica of Portuguese galleon Flor de la Mar at Banda Hilir,” he said yesterday.
Khamis hoped that with the introduction of the Mendam Berahi replica, locals could get an insight into the maritime glory of the sultanate.
The sailboat could carry 1,000 people and had three cannons fixed on its hull.
Khamis added that the maritime museum would also introduce an exhibition to detail how Melaka emerged as one of the important entrepot empires in the region.
Meanwhile, Khamis said the maritime museum attracted 300,000 visitors in the first six month of this year.
Paid visitors to other museums and galleries in the state also increased by 10%, or 15,000 people, for the same period.
In terms of nationwide ranking, Melaka was second with a total of 673,436 visitors last year, he said. “We target a higher figure this year with tours organised for schoolchildren from Singapore,” Khamis said.
Among the efforts to attract more visitors was the setting up of intriguing exhibitions, he said.Khamis added that Perzim also engaged the Chetty and Portuguese community leaders to be part of the living museum programme, which has proven to be a successful endeavour.
Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/07/01/replica-of-malacca-sultanate-sailboat-to-cost-rm10mil/#pJUzSBX4PHrCWVgU.99
