SUNGAI PETANI, KEDAH, 22 May 2016 - The Kedah Tua International Conference (KTIC) 2016 and Kedah Tua Festival (FKT) were organised to reveal the archaeological splendour at Sungai Batu and also to prepare the ancient site for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

That was stated by the Head of Education and Human Capital, Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), Jariyah Hashim during the closing ceremony of the KTIC2016 at Park Avenue Hotel, Sg. Petani recently.

According to Jariyah, all the activities carried out during the two-day conference was geared towards information-sharing and exchange, for the purpose of acknowledging and establishing the Kedah Tua civilisation for nomination to the UNESCO heritage listing.

"All the delegates, participants and presenters who came from different parts of the world have succeeded in making this conference an effective platform for discussions and exchange of knowledge/ideas on the Sungai Batu findings in terms of the economic and cultural influences that helped shape Southeast Asia’s early civilisation," she said.

Jariyah also expressed her utmost appreciation to everyone who has been involved in the process, especially USM with the continuing effort in ensuring that the process of knowledge transfer, exchange of information, discussions, and other arrangements with all the different parties would be a success.

Meanwhile, the closing ceremony witnessed the presentation of certificates of appreciation to the respective presenters by the Deputy Secretary-General (Management), Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, Dr. Junaida Lee Abdullah.

Also present at the closing ceremony of KTIC2016 were the Kedah State Religious, Tourism and Heritage and Public Works Committee Chairman, Datuk Mohd Rawi Abdul Hamid; Department of National Heritage Malaysia Commissioner, Dr. Zainah Ibrahim and USM Centre for Global Archaeological Research (PPAG) Director, Professor Dato’ Dr. Mokhtar Saidin.

The two-day conference was jointly-organised by PPAG USM, the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), National Heritage Department, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Kedah State Government, Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA) and Malaysia Institute of Architects (PAM).

The conference, held in conjunction with the Kedah Tua 2016 Festival (FKT2016) also highlighted the archaeological significance of Lembah Bujang in Kedah as a whole.

Translation: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin / Text: Hafiz Meah Ghouse Meah