Rajang River
The Rajang River is a river in Sarawak, northwestern Borneo, Malaysia. The river originates in the Iran Mountains, flows through Kapit, and then towards the South China Sea. At approximately, the river is the seventh-longest in Borneo and the longest in Malaysia.
Malaysia's largest and tallest hydro electric project, the Bakun Hydro Electric Dam, is located on the Balui River, a tributary of the Rajang. Other important tributaries include the Katibas River, Ngemah River, Iran River, Pila River, Balleh River, Bangkit River and the Kanowit River.
Etymology
In Sarawakian Malay, a major river is named Batang as it is the main larger stream which took its "root" from its tributary rivers which is known as Sungai and branches out again at the delta, thus the Rajang River is known as Batang Rajang in Malay.Upriver areas, such as the areas surrounding the headwaters, are called "Ulu" or "Hulu" in Malay. "Hulu Rajang" is the upriver section of the Rajang river. Places along the river that are too small to be called towns are named "Nanga" in the Iban language, which is the language used in the areas where the tributaries join the main river. Examples of Nangas are: Nanga Ngemah, Nanga Dap, and Nanga Poi. In Iban, "Nanga" means "longhouse" and is often followed by the name of the river that runs by it. There are certain communities that use "Rumah", often followed by the name of the headman. "Long", meaning "confluence", is used by the Orang Ulu to name places located at the confluence between the smaller tributaries and the major river, just as Malay uses the name "Kuala".
Amongst the Chinese in Sibu, the Rajang River is also nicknamed the "Swan River", probably because of the legendary appearance of a flock of swans flying over the area, resulting in the end of a famine. Alternatively, it may originate with the Sibu Chinese immigrants regarding the Melanau people as "Go" people because their staple food was "Sago". "Go" is pronounced in a similar way to the Hokkien word for "Swan". Chinese immigrants may have been reminded of another "Swan River" back in China.
Course
The Rajang is the longest river system in Malaysia, with its source in the Nieuwenhuis mountains, where it forms the political boundary between Malaysia and Indonesia. There is more than of rainfall each year in these mountains, which forms the headwaters of Rajang. The river flows from northeast to southwest. The Punan Bah people reside at the headwaters of the Rajang. One of the Rajang tributaries, the Balui River, north of the Hose Mountains, flows into the lands of the Kayan people and Kenyah people. At the western end of a great bend in the river is the Belaga District, and further downstream are the Pelagus Rapids where the Iban people dominate. The rapids are located from the Rajang river mouth. As the Balleh River joins the Balui river from south of the Hose Mountains, the Rajang becomes broader and deeper. It is estimated that about 25% of the people of Sarawak live in the region where the Rajang is at its broadest. At this intersection point, about from the river mouth, the river begins to flow from east to west, near the town of Kapit. Kapit is the last stop for express boats coming from Sibu, and is inhabited by the Chinese, Iban, and Kayan people. Kapit is the biggest town in the upper Rajang river.Further downriver are smaller towns such as Song, which is located at the mouth of the Katibas River. At about from the sea, there are owned by both Chinese and Iban people. The lands are divided into parcels measuring several acres, where smallholders clear the land for agricultural activities. In the midst of these Mixed Zone Lands, miles from the sea, is the town of Kanowit; the river here is wide.
The biggest town on the banks of the river is Sibu, some upriver from the mouth of the Rajang. It can be reached by ocean-going vessels, and is the political, economic, cultural, and education centre of the central region of Sarawak. Other towns located further downriver are Sarikei and Bintangor. These two towns have been mainly settled by the Chinese. Tanjung Manis District is located near the Rajang delta where the Malay and Melanau people dominate. Bruit Island is situated inside the Rajang delta, with a lighthouse at Sirik Point. The Rajang delta is bounded by the towns of Igan in the north and Rajang in the south.
History
The population of the Rajang basin was very low in the 19th century during the Bruneian Empire. The people living along the river's banks traded with Malays from Brunei. At that time, the Melanau, Kanowit and Rajang ethnic groups lived downriver; Bhuket, Punan Bah, Lugat, Sihan and Kejaman ethnic groups lived at the middle section of the river, with Penan and Seping tribes living in the upriver area. After the 19th century, the Kayan and Kenyah migrated to the Balui river from the present day Indonesian Kalimantan. Meanwhile, the Iban people migrated from West Kalimantan to the lower Rajang valley, moving their agricultural base. Inter-ethnic conflicts followed the introduction of new tribes into the Rajang basin, and some ethnic groups fled to the Balingian and Tatau rivers.In the late 19th century, the government of Charles Brooke began constructing forts along the Rajang in an attempt to achieve political stability in the Rajang basin. The Chinese then started to move inland and settle near the forts and trade various forest products with the natives. In 1884, Fort Vyner was constructed, and Belaga soon became the political and economic centre of the district. Subsequently, government offices, schools, a bank, a police station, a mosque, and churches were built around the fort.
During the Brooke era, the sago processing industry was an important economic activity amongst the Melanaus, and it provided an important revenue for the Sarawak government. The sago products were sent to the port of Sibu for export overseas. The Ibans in the Rajang basin exchanged jungle produce with Chinese and Malay businessmen for salt, beads, metal, porcelain utensils, earthen jars, and coins. Seeing the success of Chinese planting rubber trees and pepper vines, the Ibans also started to grow these cash crops. Later, when the Chinese ventured into the logging industry, urban migration of the Ibans occurred, whilst the Kayans and Kenyahs grew rice, cash crops such as rubber, coffee, and groundnuts. The Penans and Punans maintained a nomadic way of life, bringing jungle produce, woven items, and handicrafts for sale at local markets.
On 25 March 1973, during the period of the Communist insurgency, the Sarawak government set up the "Rajang Special Security Area", and Rajang Security Command was formed as a result of co-operation of civil, military, and police command headquarters, to clamp down on communist activities in the Rajang delta. Construction of the Bakun Dam on the upper Balui River, from 1997, resulted in the Sungai Asap resettlement scheme.
Wildlife
Mammals
Thirty species of mammals were recorded along the Rajang basin by a study of 2004. The mouth of the river is the only place where the dolphins can be sighted. Totally protected mammals include gibbon, langurs, black giant squirrel, slow loris, and tarsier. Civets, otters, bats, treeshrew, and primates are also included under the Sarawak Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998. Wild pigs and deer are the animals most frequently hunted by the locals.Birds
A total of 122 species of bird was recorded by the 2004 study, with 21 species along the mouth of the river, 96 species in the Hose Mountains, and 88 species at Lanjak Entimau in the interior of Sarawak. The only endemic species of bird found in the Rajang basin was the Dusky munia, found abundantly in paddy fields. Other species of bird commonly found along the Rajang basin are the Pacific swallow, Little spiderhunter, and Asian glossy starling. Twenty species of birds are protected, while seven species of birds are totally protected under the Sarawak Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998.Fish
A total of 164 fish species was recorded at the Rajang basin in 2005. Empurau and Semah fish are considered popular fishes among the locals. the Empurau is still found breeding near the upper tributaries of Rajang such as the Balleh River, and also near the Bakun Dam.Economy
The major economic activity in the upper reaches of the Rajang River is logging. Among the types of wood that are extracted for exports are Ramin, plywood, Kapur, Meranti, Keruing, and Belian. Rice is the dominant crop along the middle section of the Rajang basin. Trading of Engkabang fruits were commonly traded in the 1960s and 1970s, with the trade centred on Sibu. The fruits are also a food for fish such as empurau that populate the river. Other agricultural activities in the Rajang basin include the cultivation of rubber, pepper and vegetables, and poultry domestication.Trade
The Rajang Port Authority is the main regulatory body for coordinating the trade activities of all five river ports along the Rajang River. RPA serves to provide maintenance, adequate and efficient port services for all users of the ports. It is located at the Sibu port operation centre Sibu and Sungai Merah can be assessed via a shorter route through the Paloh river where the distances from the mouth of the river can be shortened to 82 km and 92 km respectively. In 2012, RPA recorded a total revenue of RM 30.1 million although its total cargo throughput went down from 5.0 million to 3.2 million tonnes from the previous year. The five river ports along the Rajang river are:- Tanjung Manis
- Sarikei
- Bintangor
- Sibu
- Sungai Merah
Tourism