Sarawak
Sarawak (
Jawi:سراواك) is one of the two
Malaysian states on the
island of
Borneo. Known as
Bumi kenyalang ("Land of the
Hornbills"), it is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia; the second largest,
Sabah, lies to the northeast.
The administrative capital is
Kuching (pop. 600,300 in 2005) which literally means 'cat' (Kucing). Major cities and towns also include
Sibu (pop. 228,000),
Miri (pop. 282,000) and
Bintulu (pop. 152,761). As of last census (May 5, 2005), the state population was 2,376,800. For more details about the population see
Demographics of Malaysia, though it is interesting to note that Sarawak is by far the most multicultural of the states in the federation of Malaysia, with no ethnic majority.
Sarawak had been a loosely governed territory under the control of the
Brunei Sultanate in the early 19th century.
James Brooke (see figure below) became governor of Sarawak on
September 24,
1841 and was appointed
Rajah by the Sultan of
Brunei on
August 18,
1842; originally this territory was just the western end of later Sarawak, around
Kuching. He ruled Sarawak until his death in 1868. His nephew
Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke became Rajah after his death; he was succeeded on his death in 1917 by his son,
Charles Vyner Brooke, with a provision that Charles should rule in consultation with his brother
Bertram Brooke[
1]. The territory was greatly expanded under these three, mostly at the expense of areas nominally under the control of
Brunei. In practice
Brunei had only controlled strategic river and coastal forts in much of the lost territory, and so most of the gain was at the expense of Muslim warlords and of the de facto independence of local tribes.
The Brooke dynasty ruled Sarawak for a hundred years and became famous as the "
White Rajahs", accorded a status within the British Empire similar to that of the
Indian Princes. In contrast to many other areas of the empire, however, the Brooke family was intent on a policy of
paternalism to protect the indigenous population against exploitation. They governed with the aid of the local Malay and Muslim classes and employed the Ibans and other '
Dayak' peoples as their army. They also encouraged the immigration of a Chinese merchant class but forbade the Chinese to settle outside of towns in order to minimise the impact on the Dayak way of life.
In the early part of 1941 preparations were afoot to introduce a new constitution, designed to limit the power of the Rajah and give the people of Sarawak a greater say in government.
While the intention was clearly admirable, the draft constitution contained defects and improprieties, not least by reason of a secret agreement drawn up between Charles Vyner Brooke and his top government officials, by which he was to be financially compensated for this gesture out of treasury funds.
|
The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly building |
Japan invaded Sarawak in 1941, occupying
Miri on
December 16 and
Kuching on
December 24, and held it for the duration of World War II until the area was secured by
Australian forces in 1945. The Rajah formally ceded sovereignty to the British Crown on
July 1, 1946, under pressure from his wife among others. In addition the British Government offered a healthy pension to sweeten the negotiations. His nephew Anthony continued to claim sovereignty as Rajah of Sarawak.
After the end of the Second World War, Anthony Brooke then opposed the cession of the Rajah´s territory to the British Crown, and was associated with anti-cessionist groups in Sarawak. Anthony was banished from the country. He was allowed to return only seventeen years later, when Sarawak became part of the Federation of Malaysia.
Sarawak became a British colony (it was formerly an independent state under British protection) in July 1946, but Brooke´s campaign continued. The Malays in particular resisted the cession to Britain, dramatically assassinating the first British governor.Sarawak was one of the main sites of the
Indonesian Confrontation between 1962 and 1966. It became an autonomous
state of the federation of
Malaysia on
September 16,
1963, despite initial opposition from parts of the population.
Having land area of
124,450 km² spreading between
latitude 0° 50′ and 5°N and
longitude 109° 36′ and 115° 40′ E, it makes up 37.5% of the land of
Malaysia.
Sarawak is currently divided into eleven Administrative Divisions:
Kuching Division,
Samarahan Division,
Sri Aman Division,
Betong Division,
Sarikei Division,
Sibu Division,
Mukah Division,
Kapit Division,
Bintulu Division,
Miri Division and
Limbang Division.
|
A Modern Iban Longhouse, built using new materials and preserving essential features of communal living |
Sarawak is home to 28
ethnic groups, each with their own distinct language, culture and lifestyle.
The
Ibans form the major ethnic group on this land with about 30.1% of the total population per the year 2000 census. The
Chinese, who generally live in the cities are the second largest group at 26.7%, followed by the
Bidayuh,
Melanau and other native tribes of Sarawak. The
Malays constitute a large portion (23.0%) of the population as well, mainly concentrated along the coast.
Sarawakians practise a variety of religions, including
Islam,
Christianity,
Chinese folk religion (a fusion of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and ancestor worship) and
animism. Many converts to Christianity among the Dayak peoples also continue to practice traditional ceremonies, particularly with dual marriage rites and during the important harvest and ancestral festivals such as
Gawai Dayak and
Gawai Antu.
Sarawak is blessed with an abundance of natural resources.
LNG and
petroleum have provided the mainstay of the state's economy for decades. Sarawak is also one of the world's largest exporters of tropical hardwood
timber. However, the state government has imposed strict log-production quotas over recent years to ensure sustainable forestry management. Sarawak still, however, produces approximately 9 to 10 million cubic metres of logs annually.
With such vast land expanse, Sarawak has large tracts of land suitable for commercial agricultural development. Approximately 32% or about 40,000 km² of the state's total land area has been identified as suitable agricultural land. Nevertheless, less than 9% of this is planted with productive permanent crops, while the balance is still under shifting cultivation for hill padi (
rice) which is estimated at more than 16,000 km². The main commercial crops are
oil palm, which has been increasing steadily over the years,
sago, and
pepper.
Since the 1980s, Sarawak has started to diversify and transform its economy into a more industrialized one. This endeavour has been seeing continuing success, with manufacturing and high-tech industries now playing a significant role in shaping the economic expansion of the state.
The global economic environment is expected to remain robust and dynamic right up to the next decade, with both the industrial and developing countries anticipated to maintain sustainable output growth. Global trade is predicted to expand by about 8%. This continuing favourable external outlook should keep the high growth momentum of the state's economy at a steady and stable level.
As the largest state in the Federation of
Malaysia, Sarawak aims to be a fully developed state along with the rest of the country by 2020. Sarawak has identified four sectors as key sources of growth:
*
manufacturing* commercial
agriculture*
construction* services sectors
The availability of vast competitively-priced land and rich reserves of natural resources has made Sarawak an attractive choice for manufacturing operations among investors.
*
Sarawak dollar*
Sarawak Stadium*
Sarawak football team*L. W. W. Gudgeon (1913).
British North Borneo. London, Adam and Charles Black.
*S. Runciman (1960).
The White Rajahs: a history of Sarawak from 1841 to 1946. Cambridge University Press
* Chin, Ung Ho(1997) Chinese Politics in Sarawak: a Study of the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) (Kuala Lumpur, New York: Oxford University Press, 1997)(ISBN 983 56 0039 2)
* Barley, Nigel (2002). "White Rajah." London, Brown Little/Abacus.
*
Sarawak government website*
WWF Heart of Borneo conservation initiative
