The public can now make use of the ‘e-arkib’ website to access national records ranging from government files, pictures, maps, building plans, audio-visual recordings, cartograph records, to historical interviews (wawancara sejarah) which are more than 25 years old.
E-arkib is a $1.9 million government initiative with the CFK Automation Sdn Bhd that seeks to realise electronic service and administration in the Sultanate by 2035 through the use of Electronic Records Management System (ERMS), which manages and stores the records digitally.
Launched yesterday by Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Hj Hazair Hj Abdullah, the e-arkib system provides a bigger and safer digital storage space for preserving the archives in the long run.
The system helps preserve these materials in case of unavoidable events such as natural disasters and the likes, according to Museum Director Bantong Antaran in his welcoming speech at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports yesterday.
Bantong added that the e-arkib also ensures the sustainability of the original records in the long term by providing digital copies as references for research instead, since “original materials will only be supplied when necessary”.
“In line with the current technological development which sees electronic communication media like e-mails and such as the norm,” he said, “they can be also be stored in e-arkib when they contain information of archive value.”
“Public records of less than 25 years old will also be managed under the e-arkib before being assessed as archive materials,” he said, adding that these can only be referred to by the National Archive and government agencies.
To date, 2.8 million records have been successfully transferred and stored into the e-arkib.”The amount will continue to increase from time to time with the increase of collected materials at the National Archive in the future.”
“With the launching of the e-arkib system, supporting equipment such as computers, printers, cameras, microfilm processors and scanners have been provided and the staff of National Archive have also been trained to use them,” he said.
The museum director added that while the e-arkib aims to ease public access to archive records, the current rules and regulations on using these records still apply as normal.
“The materials that are not published for public viewing can only be accessed after the approval of the managers, that is, following their registration as members (of the National Archive).”
The National Archive was established under the Museums Department in 1965 with an objective to collect, identify and preserve government and public records that contain historical, national and everlasting values as references (ristaan).
This objective continues to develop with the help of National Archive Act 1975, revised in 1983, which stipulates public records to be transferred to National Archive Brunei for preservation and prohibits damage to public records without permission.
The e-arkib launching ceremony was attended by 100 officers from MCYS and CFK Automation Sdn Bhd representative, Richard Newn.
The Brunei Times
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