By: Zaki Salleh
TANJUNG MALIM – Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, graced the official inauguration ceremony of the National Institute of Land and Survey (INSTUN) Complex and the Tan Sri Harussani Observatory in this locality.
Established on May 1, 1998, INSTUN was founded to provide courses in land, surveying, geospatial technology, and related information technology fields.
It initially operated from the Land Office building on Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur, before relocating to its present campus in Behrang Ulu in 2002.
Today, INSTUN operates as an agency under the purview of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment, and Climate Change (NRECC).
Meanwhile, the Tan Sri Harussani Observatory, constructed at a cost of RM7.086 million, represents the first modern observatory in the state of Perak.
This observatory is set to serve as a platform for the sharing of celestial knowledge among individuals from all walks of life, while INSTUN, with its world-class observatory facility, will become the sole public training institute in the field.
The observatory, completed in July last year, will function as a centre for education and the study of celestial and astronomical sciences, as part of a broader effort to disseminate knowledge and expertise in this domain.
The location was chosen due to its elevated terrain within the INSTUN complex, surrounded by hills and pristine forests, providing an environment with minimal light pollution from human activity.
