A delegation from the tourism, arts and culture ministry is expected to travel to the Netherlands in July or August to begin the process of repatriating the remains, which were first discovered by western archaeologists more than 150 years ago.

Chow said the remains would first be handed over to Universiti Sains Malaysia, which has the expertise to handle conservation and research, and later placed in the Guar Kepah gallery, which will serve as the final site for public display and educational outreach.

The gallery is expected to be opened by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in the third quarter of this year.

Chow said the gallery would attract tourists and also function as a centre for research and knowledge-sharing, contributing to Penang’s archaeological and heritage tourism agenda.

The construction of the Guar Kepah gallery, located in north Seberang Perai, would complete the archaeological tourism map covering Penang, Kedah, Perlis, and Perak, he said.

Guar Kepah made headlines in 2017 when a team of Malaysian archaeologists uncovered a complete human skeleton believed to be over 5,000 years old. Dubbed the “Penang Woman”, it was the first complete skeletal discovery made by a Malaysian-led team on local soil.
The Guar Kepah site is believed to be the first archaeological site to experience field work by Western archaeologists between 1863 and 1936, when more than 40 pieces of skeletal remains were unearthed.

The remains, believed to be about 4,000 years old, were symbolically handed over to the Penang state government in early 2023 at a ceremony in The Hague.