Attractions in Malaysia

Location

National Textile Museum or Muzium Tekstil Negara is located in the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. It is situated at JKR 26, Lot 50 Seksyen 70, Jalan Sultan Hishamudin. The museum is located in an old building that is previously occupied and used by the state railway. The building is in between Dayabumi building and Sultan Abdul Samad building. The museum is diagonally across the Royal Selangor Club and Dataran Merdeka.

Overview

The National Textile Museum is one of the many attractions in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur. It showcases the origins, development and techniques used in the industry of local textiles. This museum is new despite the old heritage building as it only officially opened in the year of 2010. There are mainly four exhibition galleries divided in the museum. They are Pohon Budi (Tree of Life) Gallery, Pelangi (Rainbow) Gallery, Teluk Beratai (Interlocking Bays) Gallery and finally the Ratna Sari (Special Collection of Jewelry) Gallery.

The Pohon Budi Gallery showcases the tools, techniques and also the materials used in making textile back in those days. The textile making history is to be seen in this gallery too. They are videos playing in the gallery, showing the process of textile manufacturing of large varieties of textiles. Exhibits displayed include gold thread embroidery, beaded shoes, tie- dye and more. In the Pelangi Gallery, there are traditional clothes exhibited around of different races and culture as those clothes are al rich in the use of gold thread and beading. Accessories are also one of the displays in the gallery. Teluk Beratai Gallery displays the Malay heritage collection throughout the years. They include embroidery, woven fabrics and limar, just to name a few. Aside from Malay heritage, Indian textiles are to be seen in the gallery too.

Lastly, the Ratna Sari Gallery exhibits personal adornments worn by all different ethnics including gold, silver, copper and many more. Examples of the displays are crown, anklet, necklace, hair pin and etc. The museum is opened daily from 9.00am to 6.00pm except Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Raji public holidays. The admission fee is only RM1.00.

Transport

The best way to get to the museum is by public transport - LRT. There are two LRT you should hop on to. They are Putra LRT and Ampang Line LRT. Take the LRT and disembark at the Masjid Jamek Station. Then, take a 15 minutes' walk and you will reach the National Textile Museum.