The National Museum of Malaysia

This guide to the National Museum of Malaysia follows Cheong Laitong, who in 1962 won the competition to design its Venetian-glass mosaic murals for a country that did not yet exist under that name. You'll hear how he traveled Malaya's east coast documenting batik weavers, keris-makers and silversmiths for the panels, and why the museum's 1963 opening date was chosen to fall exactly six years after independence. The guide also traces what stood on this site before, and what its destruction meant for the museum that replaced it. Look up at the facade panels as the guide walks through what each one depicts.