Prince Charles fascinated by Malaysia's cultural diversity
KUALA LUMPUR: Kicking off his maiden visit to Malaysia Friday, Britain's Prince Charles expressed his fascination with the country's cultural heritage and racial diversity.
"I must say that I've always been fascinated by Malaysia's rich cultural, religious and racial diversity - which, if I may say so, is something to be both cherished and celebrated," the Prince of Wales said at a reception hosted by the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah.
"I cannot tell you how delighted I am to be in Malaysia for the first time and in this 60th anniversary year of Malaysia's independence," the heir to the British throne said at his first official engagement of the week-long tour.
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, arrived in the Malaysian capital on Wednesday on an official visit to this multi-ethnic Southeast Asian nation of over 30 million people, one of the stops of Their Royal Highnesses' Autumn Tour.
The reception was held at the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, located a stone's throw away from the National Mosque in the heart of the city.
In his speech, Prince Charles noted that guests at the event represented a broad crosssection of Malaysia's faith groups and its vibrant civil society which could play a vital role in fostering understanding between and within Malaysia's diverse communities.
The setting for the reception could hardly be more appropriate, he said, describing the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia as the most wonderful celebration of the great diversity of traditions in Islamic art, and the rich variety of influences that had shaped it over the centuries.
"I am particularly delighted that the museum has such strong connections with my own School of Traditional Arts which itself aims to ensure that traditional arts and skills continue to enrich our changing world. ''Particularly when you think that many of the world's sacred traditions and traditional art forms have already been destroyed," he told the gathering.
During the 90-minute visit, Prince Charles, accompanied by Sultan Nazrin Shah, toured galleries highlighting, among others, the beauty of Islamic architecture, the Quran and manuscripts as well as the Ottoman Room, a reconstructed interior that dates from the early 19th century.
Prince Charles presented the museum with a souvenir in the form of his name written in Arabic and framed by intricatelypatterned borders. He had produced the gift himself.
Elaborating on his School of Traditional Arts, the Prince of Wales said one of the objectives of the school was to work on a practical solution to the threat of further extinction of the world's sacred traditions and traditional art forms.