Sarawak
Sarawak is a state of Malaysia. It is the largest of the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is in East Malaysia, in northwest Borneo, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, Kalimantan to the south, and Brunei to the north. The state capital, Kuching, is Sarawak's largest city, its economic centre, and the seat of the state government. Other cities and towns in Sarawak include Miri, Sibu, and Bintulu. As of the 2020 Malaysia census, Sarawak's population was 2.453 million. Sarawak has an equatorial climate, with tropical rainforests and abundant animal and plant species. It has several prominent cave systems at Gunung Mulu National Park. Rajang River is Malaysia's longest river; Bakun Dam, one of Southeast Asia's largest dams, is on one of its tributaries, the Balui River. Mount Murud is Sarawak's highest point. Sarawak is Malaysia's only state with a Christian majority.
The earliest known human settlement in Sarawak at the Niah Caves dates back 40,000 years. A series of Chinese ceramics dated from the 8th to 13th century AD was uncovered at the archaeological site of Santubong. Sarawak's coastal regions came under the influence of the Bruneian Empire in the 16th century. In 1839, James Brooke, a British explorer, arrived in Sarawak. He and his descendants governed the state from 1841 to 1946. During World War II, it was occupied by the Japanese for three years. After the war, the last White Rajah, Charles Vyner Brooke, ceded Sarawak to Britain, and in 1946 it became a British Crown Colony. The British granted Sarawak self-government on 22 July 1963 and it subsequently became one of Malaysia's founding members, but Indonesia opposed the federation, leading to a three-year confrontation. Malaysia's creation also prompted a communist insurgency that lasted until 1990.
The head of state is the governor, also known as the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, and the head of government is the premier. Sarawak is divided into administrative divisions and districts, governed by a system closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system, Malaysia's earliest state legislature system. Under the Malaysian constitution, Sarawak has greater autonomy than the states in Peninsular Malaysia.
Because of its natural resources, Sarawak specialises in the export of oil and gas, timber and palm oil, but also has strong manufacturing, energy and tourism sectors. It is ethnically, culturally, religiously and linguistically diverse; its ethnic groups include Iban, Chinese, Malay, Bidayuh, Melanau, Orang Ulu, Indian, Eurasian and Kedayan. English and Malay are the state languages; there is no official religion.
Etymology
The generally accepted explanation of the state's name is that it derives from the Sarawak Malay word Serawak, which means antimony. A popular alternative explanation is that it is a contraction of the four Malay words Pangeran Muda Hashim purportedly uttered when he gave Sarawak to James Brooke, an English explorer, in 1841: "Saya serah pada awak". But that is false: the territory was named Sarawak before Brooke arrived, and the word awak was not in Sarawak Malay's vocabulary before the formation of Malaysia. The area of today's Sarawak was known as Cerava by Portuguese cartographers in the 16th century.Sarawak is nicknamed "Land of the Hornbills". These birds are important cultural symbols for the Dayak people, representing the spirit of God. It is believed that if a hornbill is seen flying over residences, it will bring the local community good luck. Sarawak has eight of the world's 54 species of hornbills, and the Rhinoceros hornbill is Sarawak's state bird.
History
Foragers are known to have lived around the west mouth of the Niah Caves 40,000 years ago. A modern human skull found near the Niah Caves is the oldest example of human remains found in Malaysia and the oldest modern human skull from Southeast Asia. Chinese ceramics dating to the Tang and Song dynasties found at Santubong hint at its significance as a seaport.One of the earliest Chinese records of an independent kingdom in Borneo is the 977 AD letter to the Chinese emperor from the ruler of Boni, which some scholars believe to refer to Borneo. The Bruneians regained their independence from Srivijaya due to the onset of a Javanese-Sumatran war. In 1225, the Chinese official Zhao Rukuo reported that Boni had 100 warships to protect its trade, and that there was great wealth in the kingdom. Marco Polo suggested in his memoirs that the Great Khan or the ruler of the Mongol Empire, attempted and failed many times in invading "Great Java" which was the European name for Bruneian controlled Borneo. In the 1300s the Chinese annals, Nanhai zhi, reported that Brunei invaded or administered Sarawak and Sabah as well as the Philippine kingdoms of Butuan, Sulu, Ma-i, Malilu 麻裏蘆, Shahuchong 沙胡重, Yachen 啞陳, and 文杜陵 Wenduling, which would regain their independence at a later date.
The Melano kingdom existed from about 1300 to 1400 AD and was centred at the Mukah River. Rajah Tugau was a King in Sarawak who was mentioned in both Bruneian and Filipino sources. His kingdom covered coastal Sarawak until Belait and consisted of groups of similar Melanau and Kajang language speakers who shared an almost identical culture and heritage. Nagarakertagama, written in 1365 during Hayam Wuruk, mentions Malano and Barune among the 14 tributaries of Majapahit. After the fall of Majapahit, Barune expanded its territory along the northern coast of Borneo. According to the manuscript of Brunei's rulers, following the fall of Majapahit, Barunai led by Awang Semaun being reinforced by the Iban, conquered Tutong under its chief Mawanga and the whole of the Melano kingdom until Igan under its chief Basiung despite reinforcement from Sambas. Barunai continued the conquest of the entire south and then north of Borneo, after which he conquered the whole of Sulu and the Philippines.
In the 14th century, the Javanese manuscript Nagarakretagama, written by Prapanca in 1365, mentioned Barune as the constituent state of Hindu Majapahit, which had to make an annual tribute of forty katis of camphor. In 1369, Sulu which was also formerly part of Majapahit, successfully rebelled and then attacked Boni, and had invaded the Northeast Coast of Borneo and afterwards had looted the capital of its treasure and gold including sacking two sacred pearls. A fleet from Majapahit succeeded in driving away the Sulus, but Boni was left weaker after the attack. A Chinese report from 1371 described Boni as poor and totally controlled by Majapahit.
The Bruneian Empire was established in the coastal regions of Sarawak by the mid-15th century, and the Kuching area was known to Portuguese cartographers during the 16th century as Cerava, one of the five great seaports of Borneo. The Sultanate of Sarawak was established during this time and lasted for almost half a century before being reunited with Brunei in 1641. By the early 19th century, the Bruneian Empire was in decline, retaining only a tenuous hold on the coastal regions of Sarawak which were otherwise controlled by semi-independent Malay leaders. Away from the coast, territorial wars were fought between the Iban and a Kenyah-Kayan alliance.
File:Sir James Brooke by Francis Grant.jpg|thumb|upright|James Brooke, the first White Rajah|alt=Brooke painted by Francis Grant, standing next to a rock in front of a tropical landscape
The discovery of antimony ore in the Kuching region led Pengiran Indera Mahkota, a representative of the Sultan of Brunei, to increase development in the territory between 1824 and 1830. Increasing antimony production in the region led the Brunei Sultanate to demand higher taxes, which ultimately led to civil unrest. In 1839, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II assigned his uncle Pengiran Muda Hashim the task of restoring order but his inability to do so caused him to request the aid of British sailor James Brooke. Brooke's success in quelling the revolt was rewarded with antimony, property and the governorship of Sarawak, which at that time consisted only of a small area centred on Kuching.
The Brooke family, later called the White Rajahs, set about expanding the territory they had been ceded. With expansion came the need for efficient governance and thus, beginning in 1841, Sarawak was separated into the first of its administrative divisions and the Sarawak dollar, entered circulation in 1858. By 1912, a total of five divisions had been established in Sarawak, each headed by a Resident. The Brooke family generally practised a paternalistic form of government with minimal bureaucracy, but were pressured to establish some form of legal framework. Since they were unfamiliar with local customs, the Brooke government created an advisory Supreme Council, mostly consisting of Malay chiefs. This council is the oldest state legislative assembly in Malaysia, with the first general council meeting taking place at Bintulu in 1867. In 1928, a judicial commissioner, Thomas Stirling Boyd, was appointed as the first legally trained judge. A similar system relating to matters concerning various Chinese communities was also formed. Members of the local community were encouraged by the Brooke regime to focus on particular functions within the territory; the Ibans and other Dayak people were hired as militia while Malays were primarily administrators. Chinese, both local and immigrant, were mostly employed in plantations, mines and as bureaucrats. Expanding trade led to the formation of the Borneo Company Limited in 1856. The company was involved in a wide range of businesses in Sarawak including trade, banking, agriculture, mineral exploration, and development.
Between 1853 and 1862, there were a number of uprisings against the Brooke government but all were successfully contained with the aid of local tribes. To guard against future uprisings, a series of forts were constructed to protect Kuching, including Fort Margherita, completed in 1871. By that time Brooke's control of Sarawak was such that defences were largely unnecessary.
Charles Anthoni Brooke succeeded his uncle as White Rajah in 1868. Under his rule, Sarawak gained Limbang and the Baram and Trusan valleys from the Sultan of Brunei. The Raj became a British protectorate in 1888 with the imperial power responsible for foreign policy and the Brooke government maintaining its local administration. Domestically, Brooke established the Sarawak Museum – the oldest museum in Borneo – in 1891, and brokered a peace in Marudi by ending intertribal wars there. Economic development continued, with oil wells being drilled from 1910 and the Brooke Dockyard opening two years later. Anthony Brooke would become Rajah Muda in 1939.
A centenary celebration of Brooke rule in Sarawak was held in 1941. During the celebration, a new constitution was introduced that would limit the power of the rajah and grant the Sarawak people a greater role in running the government. However, this constitution was never fully implemented due to the occupation of Sarawak by Japan. That same year saw the United Kingdom withdraw its defensive maritime and air units to Singapore. After the departure of most of the military defenses from Sarawak, the Brooke regime adopted a scorched earth policy: The oil production facilities in Miri and the Kuching airfield were to be destroyed, after the airfield had been held for as long as possible. A Japanese invasion force led by Kiyotake Kawaguchi landed in Miri on 16 December 1941 and captured Kuching on 24 December 1941, with British ground forces retreating to Singkawang in neighbouring Dutch Borneo. There, after ten weeks of fighting, the Allied forces surrendered on 1 April 1942. Charles Vyner Brooke, the last Rajah of Sarawak, had already left for Sydney, Australia; his officers were captured by the Japanese and interned at the Batu Lintang camp.
File:Native population of Kuching.JPG|thumb|upright|Crowds throng a street in Kuching to witness the arrival of Australian Imperial Force on 12 September 1945.
Sarawak remained part of the Empire of Japan for three years and eight months. During this time it was divided into three provinces – Kuching-shu, Sibu-shu, and Miri-shu – each under their respective Provincial Governor. The Japanese otherwise preserved the Brooke administrative structure and appointed Japanese people to important government positions. Allied forces later carried out Operation Semut to sabotage Japanese operations in Sarawak. During the Battle of North Borneo, the Australian forces landed at Lutong-Miri area on 20 June 1945 and penetrated as far as Marudi and Limbang before halting their operations in Sarawak. After the surrender of Japan, the Japanese surrendered to the Australian forces at Labuan on 10 September 1945. The following day, the Japanese forces at Kuching surrendered, and the Batu Lintang camp was liberated. Sarawak was immediately placed under British Military Administration and managed by the Australian Imperial Force until April 1946.
Lacking the resources to rebuild Sarawak after the war, Charles Vyner Brooke decided to cede Sarawak as British Crown Colony and a cession bill was put forth in the Council Negri, which was debated for three days. The bill passed on 17 May 1946 with 19 votes to 16. Hundreds of Malay civil servants resigned in protest, sparking an anti-cession movement and the assassination of the second colonial governor of Sarawak, Sir Duncan Stewart. Despite the resistance, Sarawak became a British Crown colony on 1 July 1946. Anthony Brooke opposed the cession of Sarawak to the British Crown, for which he was banished from Sarawak by the colonial government. He was only allowed to return 17 years later after Sarawak had become part of Malaysia. In 1950 all anti-cession movements in Sarawak ceased after a clamp-down by the colonial government.
File:Sarawak during the formation of Malaysia.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Tan Sri Datuk Amar Stephen Kalong Ningkan declaring the formation of the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963|alt=Ningkan holding papers containing the declaration, standing behind a microphone and in front of several guards on a podium
On 27 May 1961, Tunku Abdul Rahman, the prime minister of the Federation of Malaya, announced a plan to form a greater federation together with Singapore, Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei, to be called Malaysia. On 17 January 1962, the Cobbold Commission was formed to gauge the support of Sarawak and Sabah for the plan; the Commission reported 80 per cent support for federation. On 23 October 1962, five political parties in Sarawak formed a united front that supported the formation of Malaysia. Sarawak was officially granted self-government on 22 July 1963, and federated with Malaya, North Borneo, and Singapore to form the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. The governments of the Philippines and Indonesia opposed the new federation, as did the Brunei People's Party and Sarawak-based communist groups, and in 1962, the Brunei Revolt broke out. Indonesian president Sukarno responded by deploying armed volunteers and, later, military forces into Sarawak. Thousands of Sarawak communist members went to Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, and underwent training with the Communist Party of Indonesia. The most significant engagement of the confrontation was fought at Plaman Mapu in April 1965. The defeat at Plaman Mapu ultimately resulted in the fall of Sukarno and his replacement with Suharto as President of Indonesia. Negotiations were restarted between Malaysia and Indonesia and led to the end of the confrontation on 11 August 1966. Following continued disagreements with the federal government over proportions of taxes to be paid by Singapore to the federation government, Singapore separated from Malaysia on 9 August 1965 and became an independent and sovereign nation while both Sarawak and Sabah remain in the federation.
A number of communist groups existed in Sarawak, the first of which, the Sarawak Overseas Chinese Democratic Youth League, formed in 1951. Another group, the North Kalimantan Communist Party was formally set up in 1970. Weng Min Chyuan and Bong Kee Chok were two of the more notable communist leaders involved in the insurgency. As the political scene changed, it grew progressively more difficult for the communists to operate. This led to Bong opening talks with chief minister Abdul Rahman Ya'kub in 1973 and eventually signing an agreement with the government. Weng, who had moved to China in the mid-1960s but nonetheless retained control of the CCO, pushed for a continued armed insurrection against the government in spite of this agreement. The conflict continued mostly in the Rajang Delta region but eventually ended when, on 17 October 1990, the NKCP signed a peace agreement with the Government of Sarawak.