Galeria Perdana

3,000 items from Mahathir's collection are displayed at Langkawi's Galeria Perdana, an elegant building with oriental architecture, landscaped gardens, and expansive ceiling domes hand-painted by an artist from Uzbekistan. The collection is segmented by material and sprawls across 3 interconnected multi-story buildings.

Block A includes a display of crystal wear, including decanters gifted by Malaysian oil giant, Petronas; musical instruments; artwork of various materials like pencil and sand; Islamic art; intricate wood carvings; and medals received by Mahathir Mohamad.

Block B houses items mainly gifted to the former Prime Minister's wife like textiles, jewelry, silver and copper wear, landscape paintings, woven baskets and fans, and a series of Japanese geisha dolls.

Block C, the gallery's newest addition, contains a collection of weapons, original paintings, maps, rare books, and a series of cars and motorbikes including a Formula 1 car that raced in the 1993 South African Grand Prix.

A number of common themes can be noticed across the 3 buildings. Several paintings and photographs feature Mahathir with former world leaders like Nelson Mandela and Margaret Thatcher, while many paintings and sculptures depict horses, one the former Prime Minister's passions. The large collection of cars and motorcycles may seem out of place but actually speaks to Mahathir's influential role in establishing Malaysia's automotive industry to boost the nation's economy.

Look Around

Building exterior

Ticket desk

Intricate Islamic-inspired ceilings

Hallways connecting the buildings

Gallery complex

Portrait of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad

Glass collection

Silver sculptures

Informative posters on the former Prime Minister's life

Horse-drawn carriage

Popular exhibits

Ceramic collection

Carved portraits

Silver collection

Japanese Geisha doll

Weapons collection

Literature collection

Museum collections

Cars - old to new

F1 racing car

Car collection

Who Will Like Galeria Perdana

Culture Buff

Explore Malaysian culture through traditional artwork like hand-woven baskets and Islamic paintings and ceramics. The collection also includes cultural items from other countries like Japan, Thailand, and England. The items shed insight into the high levels of respect held for Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and his influential role in shaping modern Malaysia.

Sports Fan

See a Formula 1 car up close. The racecar was gifted to the former Prime Minister by oil and gas corporation, Petronas. It raced in the 1993 Grand Prix in South Africa and features a Ferrari Tipo 052 V10 engine.

Insider Tips For Galeria Perdana

• You must pay a fee to use a camera or video camera inside the gallery (RM2 (USD$0.48) for camera and RM5 (USD$1.20) for video for foreigners).
• Many plaques and item descriptions are only in Bahasa Malaysia, not English. Download Malay on Google Translate before your visit and use the camera tool to translate the descriptions.
• It takes at least 90 minutes to see all 3 buildings, there are plenty of benches to sit and have a rest between exhibits.
• Ticket holders are free to roam around the landscaped gardens and greenhouse in addition to the 3 buildings.

Ticket prices

Map of the complex

Video

How To Get There

Tech & Photography

Food & Drink

• Fruitie Delight Cafe - Located in the gardens surrounding the building, the café sells light meals, snacks, and drinks.

Backstory

Dr. Mahathir Mohamad's political career has spanned over 70 years. He was Malaysia's 4^th and 7^th Prime Minister, serving in the office from 1981 to 2003, then again from 2018 to 2020. He has also served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Langkawi since 2018.

Under Mahathir's leadership, Malaysia experienced rapid modernization and economic growth with cutting-edge initiatives like the construction of the Petronas Twin Towers, and the establishment of Malaysia's automotive industry, starting with Malaysian car brand, Proton.

Mahathir was widely respected by the Malaysian people, winning 5 consecutive general elections. He was also highly esteemed by other nations, and was the recipient of many awards and gifts, as tokens of appreciation. Believing the beautiful and culturally significant items belong to the Malaysian people as much as to himself, Mahathir established 3 museums across Malaysia to house his collection. The entire collection consists of 9,000 items with 3,000 kept at Langkawi's Galeria Perdana.

Founded in December 1995 and opened to the public in April 1996, Galeria Perdana initially consisted of only Blocks A and B. Block C was added to the complex in 2003.

Etiquette

Scorecard

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