KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 -- Muzium Negara, just across from KL Sentral, may look big from the outside but inside, there's barely enough room for Malaysia's past.

Behind its grand facade, a quiet space crunch is limiting how Malaysia tells its own story.

"We have about half a million artefacts. But what's on display, maybe just 10 to 11 per cent," said Muzium Negara Deputy Director Nor Hanisah Ahmad.

The museum currently operates four main galleries and several temporary exhibition spaces, but even that, she says, is stretched thin.

"We get asked, 'Why isn't this era shown?' or 'Where's this story?'"

"The truth is, we don't have enough room to tell everything," she explained.

While the museum rotates themed exhibitions annually, and eve...