A leap forward in the new Bank Negara building

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In days of yore: Najib (left) admiring animal figurines which were once used as currency at Bank Negara Numismatics Gallery after opening Sasana Kijang in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. With him are (from right) Dr Zeti, Numismatics Gallery curator Rohaya Juli and Bank Negara Museum and Art Gallery director Lucien de Guise.

Bank Negara has opened a new building, Sasana Kijang, established to be a centre of knowledge and learning in central banking and finance.

The 1.09 million sq ft centre houses state-of-the-art training facilities, offices and conference halls. In addition to that, the centre also features Bank Negara Malaysia’s Museum and Art Gallery which is open to the public.

Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said the centre was important for human capital development.

“The global economic and financial landscape is currently at an important turning point as we transit to a fundamentally changed future.

We therefore want to have the skills for this future — to be well-equipped to effectively manage our future,” she said in her speech at the launch of the centre recently.

The centre is also home to the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) and the South East Asian Central Banks (Seacen) Research and Training centre.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who launched the centre, said he was confident it would quickly become a leading regional forum for those working in financial services, central banking and macroeconomic policy.

“It is a building that is a testament to Malaysian achitecture — a magnificent combination of form and function, minimalism and detail, history and visionary forward,” he said.

Dr Zeti said the architectural concept of Sasana Kijang is inspired from the shape of the Cowrie shell, a popular form of money in the Malay Peninsula during the third century.

“The facade design of the building is derived from the geometric patterns of traditional Malaysian songket fabric which is woven with intricate gold and silver threads which creates a strong bond thus giving the fabric strength and elegance,” she said.

She added the museum and art gallery featured collections that have been built up since the earliest days of the central bank over more than five decades to understand better on the country’s history of currencies and economy and financial system.