SPACE EXPLORATION GALLERY LAUNCH

SPEECH BY CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG
AT SPACE EXPLORATION GALLERY LAUNCH

4 AUGUST 2018
TECH DOME PENANG

A very good morning to all of you.

The present administration of the Penang State has always paid a lot of attention to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. In our last term in office, we have put in a lot of STEM initiatives and projects including the Penang Digital Library, the Penang Science Cluster, Tech Dome Penang and also a body called Penang STEM 4.0 to synergize the STEM activities in the State. We do this because we believe that in this 21st century, technology will be the main vehicle for progress and for Penang to win, we must have a populace savvy in matters of science and technology.

Tech Dome Penang was setup under a public-private-people-partnership (PPPP) arrangement. Its birth was only possible through the support of companies and individuals of the public who worked together with the Penang State government. Since it opened, Tech Dome Penang has proven to be worth every ringgit spent. Tech Dome Penang has more than achieve its original mission to promote science and technology to our young people. To date about 180,000 visitors have come through TDP.

TDP has become an entity where international collaboration in the promotion of science and culture has been made possible. It has also been a place where science, the community and industry converged to nurture innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership. It has also become a place where Malaysians irrespective of race and religion come to enjoy the wonders of science. In a short span of time, Tech Dome Penang has achieved a Facebook rating of 4.9, the best among all sites in Penang and also among science centers in the region. Tech Dome Penang has indeed made Penang proud.

Today we are proud with the new and significant addition to Tech Dome Penang – the Space Exploration Gallery.

The State has invested RM530,000 in this project. We are glad to see a lot of positive elements in the execution of this project, these included:
- team work between the different government agencies and NGO’s – MBPP, PSDC and the Astronomical Society of Penang; 
- international collaboration i.e. between the Penang State Government, Tech Dome Penang, the China Science and Technology Museum (CSTM) at Beijing and the Consulate General of China in Penang; 
- delivered on schedule – this in spite of the many events that impeded its progress; 
- beneficial to the public - we expect thousands of visitors and students to view and be inspired by this new exhibits in the years to come. 
- use of technology – apart form the models donated by CSTM, Tech Dome Penang has used fiber glass fabrication techniques and 3D printing technology in the fabrication of the models.

All in all, very satisfying to see the completion of this new gallery.

To our friends from the Peoples Republic of China, we are very proud to receive your donation of the models of 4 Long March rockets and 2 life size space crafts – the Change’E Moon Lander and the YuTu (on Rover). These models give us a great opportunity to have an insight to know what China is doing in terms of space exploration. Their progress in space technology has indeed been very impressive and we can learn a lot from them. Their story will inspire us and motivate us, as we too want to progress in areas of science and technology.

On behalf of the Penang State government, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the generosity of the People’s Republic of China and the cooperation of the China Science and Technology Museum and the Consulate General of China in Penang to bring the model rockets and space-crafts to Penang. From my perspective, this cooperation means more than just the setting up of a gallery, it is an indication of the friendship between our two countries that we value very much. We look forward very much to similar sort of cooperation in other areas.

Finally, I hope Penangites and Malaysian will take the opportunity to visit the new Space Exploration Gallery. Congratulations to Tech Dome Penang and keep up the good work for Penang and Malaysia. 

Thank you.