Abang Johari launches World Clean Up Day at Kpg Masjid today.

KUCHING: The replica of the ‘Royalist’ sailing ship will be kept as an exhibit at Brooke Dockyard upon the completion of the ‘White Rajah’ movie shooting next year.

Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said Margate House Films and the Brooke Trust are building a full-scale working replica of the Royalist, the schooner on which James Brooke sailed to Sarawak in the late 1830s.

The Royalist, he said, is used in the filming of the movie.

“After the shooting, the Royalist replica would remain in Kuching and will be kept at the dry dock in Brooke Dockyard, and there is a great possibility that we may convert it into a restaurant,” he told reporters after officiating the World Cleanup Day here today.

The proposed Brooke Dockyard Maritime Museum here is set to become a popular heritage attraction for both local and foreign visitors upon its completion.

Abang Johari said the the first phase of upgrading works on Brooke Dockyard, which included the construction of the waterfront, is ongoing now.

He said the second phase would focus on the renovation of the Dockyard itself, where certain sections would be turn into a centre for handicraft trading or heritage products.

He believed that upon full completion, Brooke Dockyard would become another one of the heritage attractions in Kuching.

“Brooke Dockyard has its own history because it is the only engineering institution that is very old in Sarawak. We are going to renovate the existing building but it will not affect the its design.

“What we are going to do is to renovate the area that we see dangerous to the public. Aside from that, the foot trail from Brooke Dockyard would be extended to the waterfront and to the floating mosque,” he said.

The Chief Minister said the first phase of Brooke Dockyard renovation project costs about RM6 million while the second phase will cost more than RM10 million.

He said the whole project should be completed in two to three years’ time.