Sarawak

Sarawak is one of 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.


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The administrative capital is Kuching which has a population of 579,900 (2006 census; Kuching City South - 143,500; Kuching City North - 133,600; Padawan- 3rd Mile/ 7th Mile/ 10th Mile - 302,800). Major cities and towns also include Sibu (pop. 254,000), Miri (pop. 263,000) and Bintulu (pop. 176,800). As of last census (December 31, 2006), the state population was 2,357,500. For more details about the population see Demographics of Malaysia, though it is interesting to note that Sarawak is, like Sabah to the north, a multicultural state, with no ethnic majority.

Sarawak is divided into 11 Divisions:

* Betong Division
* Bintulu Division
* Kapit Division
* Kuching Division
* Limbang Division
* Miri Division
* Mukah Division
* Samarahan Division
* Sarikei Division
* Sibu Division
* Sri Aman Division

History

24 Sep 1841 Sarawak given to James Brooke by the Sultan of Brunei.
1853 Independence from Brunei.
19 Feb 1857 - 23 Feb 1857 Chinese revolt under Liu Shanbang (d. 1857) occupies
of Kuching.
14 Jun 1888 British protectorate.
24 Dec 1941 - 10 Sep 1945 Japanese occupation, part of Boruneo Kita; May 1942 Sarawak
divided into 2 Shu (provinces/states)- Kuching-shu (southern
Sarawak) and Miri-shu (northern Sarawak and Brunei) and briefly
Sibu-shu (central Sarawak) Jul 1942 - Oct? 1943 (see Sabah).
11 Sep 1945 - 15 Apr 1946 Australian military administration (see under Sabah).
1 Jul 1946 British crown colony.
31 Aug 1963 Self-government granted.
16 Sep 1963 Joins Federation of Malaysia.

The eastern seaboard of Borneo had been charted (though never settled) by the Portuguese in the early 16th century. The area of today's Sarawak was known to Portuguese cartographers as Cerava. Sarawak had been a loosely governed territory under the control of the Brunei Sultanate in the early 19th century, although in the early 17th century Sarawak had her own the first and the last Sultan, Sultan Tengah. During the reign of Pangeran Indera Mahkota in 19th century, Sarawak was in chaos. Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II (1827-1852), the Sultan of Brunei, ordered Pangeran Muda Hashim in 1839 to restore order and it was during this time that James Brooke arrived in Sarawak. Pangeran Muda Hashim initially requested assistance but James Brooke refused. In 1841, James Brooke paid another visit to Sarawak and this time he agreed to assist. Pangeran Muda Hashim signed a treaty in 1841 surrendering Sarawak and Sinian to James Brooke. Thereafter, on 24 September 1841, Pangeran Muda Hashim bestowed the title Governor to James Brooke. He effectively became the Rajah of Sarawak and founded the White Rajah Dynasty of Sarawak, later extending his administration through an agreement with the Sultan of Brunei.

Brooke 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 the Brooke dynasty, 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 rulers of Indian princely states. In contrast to many other areas of the empire, however, the Brooke dynasty was intent on a policy of paternalism to protect the indigenous population against exploitation. They governed with the aid of the Muslim Malay and enlisted the Ibans and other "Dayak" as a contingent militia. They also encouraged the immigration of Chinese merchants but forbade the Chinese to settle outside of towns in order to minimize the impact on the Dayak way of life. They also established the Sarawak Museum, the first museum in Borneo.

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. Despite this democratic intention, 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.[citation needed]

Japan invaded Sarawak and occupied the island of Borneo 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, Charles Vyner Brooke, 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-secessionist 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 (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 officially granted independence on July 22, 1963, and was admitted into the federation of Malaysia on September 16, 1963, to the initial opposition from parts of the population. Sarawak was also a flashpoint during the Indonesian Confrontation between 1962 and 1966.


Governor

24 Sep 1841 - 18 Aug 1842 James Brooke (b. 1803 - d. 1868)
Rajahs¹
18 Aug 1842 - 11 Jun 1868 James Brooke (s.a.)
(from 27 Apr 1848, Sir James Brooke)
11 Jun 1868 - 17 May 1917 Charles Johnson Brooke (b. 1829 - d. 1917)
(from 2 Jun 1888, Sir Charles Johnson Brooke)
1859 - 1863 John Brooke Johnson Brooke (b. 1823 - d. 1868)
(acting for absent Rajah)
1863 - 1868 Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke (b. 1829 - d. 1917)
(acting for absent Rajah)
17 May 1917 - 1 Jul 1946 Charles Vyner Brooke (b. 1879 - d. 1963)
(from 3 Jun 1927, Sir Charles Vyner Brooke)
(in exile [Australia and U.K.] 25 Dec 1941 - 14 Apr 1946)
1939 - 1940 Anthony Walter Dayrell Brooke (b. 1912)
(acting for absent Rajah)

Governors
29 Oct 1946 - 1949 Sir Charles Noble Arden-Clarke (b. 1898 - d. 1962)
14 Nov 1949 - 10 Dec 1949 Duncan George Stewart (b. 1904 - d. 1949)
10 Dec 1949 - 1950 Christopher William Dawson (b. 1896 - d. 1983)
(acting)
4 Apr 1950 - 1959 Anthony Foster Abell (b. 1906 - d. 1994)
(from 1 Jan 1952, Sir Anthony Foster Abell)
23 Feb 1960 - 1963 Sir Alexander Nicol Anton Waddell (b. 1913 - d. 1999)

Heads of State (title Yang di-Pertua Negeri)
16 Sep 1963 - 2 Apr 1969 Tun Datuk Abang Openg bin Abang
Sapie (b. 1905)
2 Apr 1969 - 2 Apr 1977 Tun Bujang bin Tunku Othman (b. 1898)
2 Apr 1977 - 2 Apr 1981 Tun Datuk Patinggi Abang Mohamad
Salaheddin (1st time) (b. 1921)
2 Apr 1981 - 2 Apr 1985 Datuk Seri Panglima (from 1982,
Tun) Abdul Rahman Yakub (b. 1928)
2 Apr 1985 - 4 Dec 2000 Tun Datuk Patinggi Ahmad Zaidi
Adruce bin Mohamad Noor (b. 1924 - d. 2000)
4 Dec 2000 - Tun Datuk Patinggi Abang Mohamad
Salaheddin (2nd time) (s.a.)
(acting to 22 Feb 2001)

¹Full style of the ruler: Sri Paduka Duli Yang Maha Mulia Rajah dan Yang di-Pertuan Negara Sarawak ("The Rajah of Sarawak").


Chief minister
1843 - 1846 Thomas Williamson (b. 1818/19 - d. 1846)
Resident
1863 - 1873 Arthur Chichester Crookshank (b. 1823/24 - d. 1891)
Chairmen of the Committee of Administration
1875 - 1880 William M. Crocker
1881 - 1895 Francis Richard Ord Maxwell
1896 - 1903 Charles Agar Bampfylde (b. 1856 - d. 1918)
1903 - 1904 H.F. Deshon
1904 - 1909 Sir Percy F. Cunynghame (b. 1867 - d. 1947)
1909 - 1910 H.R.A. Day
1910 - 1915 Ivone Kirkpatrick Caldecott
1915 - 1923 Arthur Bartlett Ward (b. 1879 - d. 19..)
Chief Secretaries (and Chairmen of the Committee of Administration)
1923 - 1926 John Coney Moulton (b. 1886 - d. 1926)
1927 - 1928 H.B. Crocker
1928 - 1930 Charles Vyner Brooke (1st time) (s.a.)
1930 F.F. Boult
1930 J.C. Swayne (1st time)(acting)
1930 - 1931 Charles Vyner Brooke (2nd time) (s.a.)
1931 - 1932 J.C. Swayne (2nd time)(acting)
1932 - 1934 Charles Frederick Cunningham (b. 1888 - d. 1969)
Macaskie (government secretary)
1934 - 1937 Charles Vyner Brooke (3rd time) (s.a.)
1937 - 1939 Edward Parnell
1939 - 1941 John Beville Archer (1st time) (b. 1893 - d. 1947)
May 1941 - 25 Dec 1941 Cyril Drummond Le Gros Clark (b. 1894 - d. 1945)
1941 - 1946 Vacant
1946 John Beville Archer (2nd time) (s.a.)
1946 - 1950 Christopher William Dawson (b. 1896 - d. 1983)
1950 - 1955 R.G. Aikman (b. 1905)
1955 - 1958 J.H. Ellis (b. 1909)
1958 - 1959 John Coleraine Hanbury Barcroft (b. 1908 - d. 1958)
1959 - 1963 Francis Derek Jakeway (b. 1915 - d. 1993)
Chief ministers (title Ketua Menteri)
22 Jul 1963 - 16 Jun 1966 Stephen Kalong Ningkan (b. 1920 - d. 1997) SNAP
(from 1946, Datuk Stephen Kalong Ningkan)
(1st time)
Jun 1966 - 7 Sep 1966 Datuk Penghulu Tawi Sli (1st time) (b. 1912 - d. 19..)
7 Sep 1966 - 23 Sep 1966 Datuk Stephen Kalong Ningkan (s.a.) SNAP
(2nd time)
23 Sep 1966 - 7 Jul 1970 Datuk Penghulu Tawi Sli (2nd time) (s.a.)
7 Jul 1970 - 26 Mar 1981 Datuk Seri Panglima Abdul Rahman (s.a.) PBB
Yakub
26 Mar 1981 - Datuk Patinggi (from 1988, Datuk
Seri; from 1989, Tan Sri) Abdul
Taib Mahmud (b. 1936) PBB


British Agents
14 Jun 1888 - 25 Dec 1941 the governors of the Straits
Settlements (see Singapore)
British Adviser
1940 - 25 Dec 1941 Walter Evelyn Pepys (b. 1885 - d. 1966)
British Resident
1946 John Coleraine Hanbury Barcroft (s.a.)
British Representative
1946 - 1 Jul 1946 Christopher William Dawson (s.a.)