ALOR SETAR: The Kedah Paddy Museum mural, ceiling and air-con system works have been completed ahead of schedule, and the museum will reopen to visitors on November 30 before the start of the year-end school holidays.

The museum hopes to attract 250,000 visitors during Visit Kedah Year 2025.

Located eight kilometres from Alor Setar, Kedah Paddy Museum officially opened for operation on 12 November 2004, displaying artefacts, tools and products related to the paddy-growing industry, along with a 360-degree panoramic mural to illustrate the production process and development of the paddy-growing industry in Kedah, known as the Rice Bowl of Malaysia.

Renovation works on the museum’s domed ceiling, lobby atrium, panoramic mural and air-conditioning system cost a total of RM3.2 million, fully financed by the state government.

The 12,000 square metre museum comprising a main building and six auxiliary buildings is nestled in the middle of a paddy-growing area at the foothill of Gunung Keriang.

The museum drew an average of 180,000 to 250,000 visitors annually during its first ten years of operation, declining to under 100,000 thereafter due to dilapidated facilities.