name	Sarawak
official name	Land of The Hornbills
settlement type	State
flag alt	Flag of Sarawak
image shield	Coat_of_arms_of_Sarawak.svg.png
shield alt	Coat of Arms of Sarawak
nickname	Land of the Hornbills
motto	''"Bersatu, Berusaha, Berbakti"''"United, Striving, Serving"
anthem	''Ibu Pertiwiku'' (My Motherland)
map caption	Sarawak in Malaysia
seat type	Capital
seat	Kuching
parts type	Divisions
parts style	list
parts	''In alphabetical order:''
p1	Betong
p2	Bintulu
p3	Kapit
p4	Kuching
p5	Limbang
p6	Miri
p7	Mukah
p8	Samarahan
p9	Sarikei
p10	Sibu
p11	Sri Aman
government footnotes
leader title	Yang DiPertua Negeri
leader name	Abang Muhammad Salahuddin Abang Barieng
leader title2	Chief Minister
leader name2	Abdul Taib Mahmud (BN)
total type	State of Sarawak
area footnotes
area total km2	124450
area water km2
population total	2420009
population as of	2010
population density km2	auto
pop est as of	2010
demographics type1	Human Development Index
demographics1 footnotes
demographics1 title1	HDI (2010)
demographics1 info1	0.692 (high) (11th)
postal code type	Postal code
postal code	93xxx to 98xxx
area code type	Calling code
area code	082 (Kuching), (Samarahan)083 (Sri Aman), (Betong)084 (Sibu), (Kapit), (Sarikei), (Mukah)085 (Miri), (Limbang), (Marudi), (Lawas)086 (Bintulu), (Belaga)
registration plate	QA & QK (Kuching) QB (Sri Aman) QC (Kota Samarahan) QL (Limbang) QM (Miri) QP (Kapit) QR (Sarikei) QS (Sibu) QT (Bintulu) QSG (Sarawak State Government)
blank name sec1	Brunei Sultanate
blank info sec1	19th century
blank1 name sec1	Brooke dynasty
blank1 info sec1	1841
blank2 name sec1	Japanese occupation
blank2 info sec1	1941–1945
blank3 name sec1	British control
blank3 info sec1	1946–1963
blank4 name sec1	Independence
blank4 info sec1	22 July 1963
blank5 name sec1	Accession with the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia
blank5 info sec1	16 September 1963
website	www.sarawak.gov.my
footnotes	}}

Sarawak (Jawi:سراوق) () is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as ''Bumi Kenyalang'' ("Land of the Hornbills"), Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the north-east.

The administrative capital is Kuching, which has a population of 579,900. Major cities and towns include Miri (pop. 263,000), Sibu (pop. 254,000) and Bintulu (pop. 176,800). As of the last census (2010), the state population was 2,420,009.

History

The eastern seaboard of Borneo was charted, though not settled, by the Portuguese in the early 16th century. The area of Sarawak was known to Portuguese cartographers as Cerava. During the 17th century, Sarawak was self-governed under Sultan Tengah. By the early 19th century, Sarawak had become a loosely governed territory under the control of the Brunei Sultanate. During the reign of Pangeran Indera Mahkota in 19th century, Sarawak was facing 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 in the matter, but Brooke refused. In 1841, Brooke paid another visit to Sarawak and this time he agreed to provide assistance. Pangeran Muda Hashim signed a treaty in 1841 surrendering Sarawak and Sinian to Brooke. 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. Sarawak was thus an independent kingdom from 1841 until 1888, when the state was placed under British protection.

Brooke Dynasty

James Brooke was appointed Rajah by the Sultan of Brunei on 18 August 1842. Brooke ruled the territory, later expanded, across the western regions of Sarawak around Kuching until his death in 1868. His nephew Charles Anthony Johnson Brooke became Rajah after his death; he was succeeded on his death in 1917 by his son, Charles Vyner Brooke, with the condition that Charles should rule in consultation with his brother Bertram Brooke. The Sarawak territories were greatly enlarged 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, 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 in order 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. The Brooke dynasty also encouraged the immigration of Chinese merchants but forbade the Chinese to settle outside of towns in order to minimise the impact on the Dayak way of life. Charles Brooke, the second White Rajah of Sarawak, established the Sarawak Museum, the oldest 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 irregularities, including a secret agreement drawn up between Charles Vyner Brooke and his top government officials, financially compensating him via treasury funds.

Second World War and Occupation

Japan invaded Sarawak and occupied the island of Borneo in 1941, occupying Miri on 16 December and Kuching on 24 December, holding both territories for the duration of World War II until the area was secured by Australian forces in 1945. Charles Vyner Brooke formally ceded sovereignty to the British Crown on 1 July 1946, under pressure from his wife among others. In addition the British Government offered a healthy pension to Brooke.

Anthony Brooke 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. For this he was banished from Sarawak and he was allowed to return only seventeen years later, when Sarawak became part 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 second British governor, Sir Duncan George Stewart.

Independence

Sarawak was officially granted independence on 22 July 1963,and joined with Malaya, Sabah, and Singapore, in the federation of Malaysia, formed on 16 September 1963, despite the initial opposition from parts of the population. Sarawak was also a flashpoint during the Indonesian Confrontation between 1962 and 1966.

Geography

The Sarawak state legislative assembly building, in Kuching. 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 also contains large tracts of tropical rain forest home to an abundance of plant and animal species. The state of Sarawak stretches for over 750 km along the north east coastline of Borneo, interrupted in the north by about 150 km of Brunei coast. Sarawak is separated from the Indonesian part of Borneo (Kalimantan) by ranges of high hills and mountains that are part of the central mountain range of Borneo. These get higher to the north and culminate near the source of the Baram River with the steep Mount Batu Lawi, Mount Mulu in the Park of the same name and Mount Murud with the highest peak in Sarawak. The major rivers from the south to the north include Sarawak River, the Lupar River, the Saribas River, and the Rajang River which is the longest river in Malaysia at 563 km long. The Baleh River branch, the Baram River and the Limbang River drains into the Brunei Bay as it divides the two parts of Brunei and the Trusan River. The Sarawak river 2459k2 in area and is the main river flowing through the capital Kuching. Sarawak can be divided into three natural regions. The coastal region is rather low lying flat country with large extents of swamps and other wet environments. The hill region provides most of the easily inhabited land and most of the larger cities and towns have been built in this region. The ports of Kuching and Sibu have been built some distance from the coast on rivers. Bintulu and Miri are close to the coast line where the hills stretch right to the South China Sea. The third region is the mountain region along the border and with the Kelabit and Murut highlands in the north.

Environment

Sarawak has vast areas of both lowland and highland rainforest. However, Sarawak has been hit hard by the logging industry and the expansion of monoculture tree plantations and oil palm plantations. Malaysia's deforestation rate is increasing faster than anywhere else in the world. Statistics estimate Sarawak's forests have been depleted but there is no definitive study to know how much. Malaysia's deforestation rates overall are among the highest in Asia, jumping almost 86 percent between the 1990–2000 period and 2000–2005. In total, Malaysia lost an average of 1,402 km² —0.65 percent of its forest area—per year since 2000. By comparison, South East Asian countries lost an average of 0.35% of their forest per annum during the 1990s.

Demographics

Population

As of the 2010 census, the population of Sarawak was 2,399,839, making it the 4th most populous state in Malaysia. Due to the large area of Sarawak, it has the lowest population density in Malaysia, which stands at 22 person per square kilometre. Sarawak also has some of the lowest population growth in Malaysia.

Ethnic groups

{{bar box |title=Ethnic groups in Sarawak |titlebar=#ddd |left1=Ethnic |right1=Percentage |float=right |bars= }}

Sarawak has more than 40 sub-ethnic groups, each with its own distinct language, culture and lifestyle. Cities and larger towns are populated predominantly by Malays, Melanaus, Chinese, Indians and a smaller percentage of Ibans and Bidayuhs who have migrated from their home-villages for employment reasons.

Generally, Sarawak has seven major ethnic groups namely Iban, Chinese, Malay, Bidayuh, Melanau, Orang Ulu and 'others'. Several more minor ethnics which do not belong to any of these seven major ethnic groups are Kedayan, Javanese, Bugis, Murut and Indian. Unlike Indonesia, the term Dayak is not officially used to address Sarawakian's native ethnicity.

Iban

The Ibans comprise the largest percentage (almost 30%) of Sarawak's population. Iban is native to Sarawak and Sarawak has the highest number of Ibans in Borneo.

The large majority of Ibans practise Christianity. However, like most other ethnic groups in Sarawak, they still observe many of their traditional rituals and beliefs. Sarawak celebrates colourful festivals such as the Gawai Dayak (harvest festival), Gawai Kenyalang (hornbill, or the god of war festival), penuaian padi and Gawai Antu (festival of the dead).

Chinese

Chinese pioneers first came to Sarawak as traders and explorers in the 6th century. Today, they make up 24% of the population of Sarawak and consist of communities built from the economic migrants of the 19th and early 20th centuries. They are classified as a non-Bumiputera ethnic group, despite bearing the largest contribution and hardship towards the development of Sarawak since the early 19th century.

The Sarawak Chinese belong to a wide range of dialect groups, the most significant being Foochow, Hakka, Hokkien, Teochew, Hainanese, and Puxian Min. The Chinese maintain their ethnic heritage and culture and celebrate all the major cultural festivals, most notably Chinese New Year and the Hungry Ghost Festival. The Sarawak Chinese are predominantly Buddhists and Christians.

Malay

The Malays make up 23% of the population in Sarawak. They mostly populate the southern region and urban areas of Sarawak. In Malaysia, for statistical purpose, Javanese and Bugis including some other Indonesian-origin ethnics like Banjar are categorized under Malay ethnic group. A huge majority of the Malays in Sarawak were not actually Malays but ethnics of Indonesian origin that does not fall into the Dayak category but arranged as so for statistic purposes and due to cultural similarities.

Melanau

The Melanaus have been thought to be amongst the original settlers of Sarawak. They make up 6% of the population in Sarawak.

Today most of the Melanaus community is Muslim whilst some remained Christians, though they still celebrate traditional animist festivals such as the annual Kaul Festival.

Bidayuh

Concentrated mainly on the West end of Borneo, the Bidayuhs make up 8% of the population in Sarawak.

The Bidayuhs speak a number of different but related dialects. Some Bidayuhs speak either English or Sarawak Malay as their main language. While some of them still practise traditional religions, the majority of modern-day Bidayuhs have adopted the Christian faith with a few villages embracing the Islamic faith as a minority group within the Bidayuh community. Another ethnic associated to Bidayuh is Salako, classified as Bidayuh by the Malaysian government for political convenience.

Orang Ulu

Orang Ulu is a group of ethnics in Sarawak. The various Orang Ulu ethnics together make up roughly 6% of Sarawak's population. The phrase ''Orang Ulu'' means upriver people and is a term used to collectively describe the numerous tribes that live upriver in Sarawak's vast interior. Such groups include the major Kayan and Kenyah tribes, and the smaller neighbouring groups of the Kajang, Kejaman, Punan, Ukit, and Penan. Nowadays, the definition also includes the down-river tribes of the Lun Bawang, Lun Dayeh, "mean upriver" or "far upstream", Berawan, Saban as well as the plateau-dwelling Kelabits. Orang Ulu is a term coined officially by the government to identify several ethnics and sub-ethnics who live mostly at the upriver and uphill areas of Sarawak. Most of them live in the district of Baram, Miri, Belaga, Limbang and Lawas.

A vast majority of the Orang Ulu tribe are Christians but traditional religions are still practised in some areas.

Some of the major tribes making up the Orang Ulu group include:

Kayan

Lun Bawang

Kelabit

Kenyah

Penan

Bisaya

Others

Other minority ethnic groups residing in Sarawak are the Kedayan ethnic group and the Punan Bah people (in actual fact is a collective of obscure and unaccounted ethnic communities grouped together as a single ethnic entity), and also non-Bumiputera ethnic groups, which are the Indian and Eurasian.

The Kedayan are an ethnic group residing in parts of Sarawak. The Kedayan language is spoken by more than 37,000 people in Sarawak, with most of the members of the Kedayan community residing in Lawas, Limbang, Miri and Sibuti areas. Unlike its Peninsular counterpart, Sarawakians of Indian descent are small in number and have assimilated very well to the other communities. Eurasians continues to be the smallest among the minority ethnic groups in Sarawak, mostly due to assimilation and interracial marriages. The Punan Bah communities are usually located in areas that encompass the borders of Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei and Indonesia. More studies need to be carried out about them, as they are one of the lesser known group in the state.

Religions

{{bar box |title=Religion in Sarawak |titlebar=#ddd |left1=Religion |right1=Percentage |float=right |bars= }}

Sarawak possesses a richly spiritual society formed from its multiracial and diversity of religions of its people.

Christianity has the highest number of practitioners in Sarawak with 43%-majority according to the 2010 census. Major Christian denominations in Sarawak are the Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists, Borneo Evangelical Mission (BEM or Sidang Injil Borneo, S.I.B.) and Baptists. Many Sarawakian Christians are non-Malay Bumiputera, ranging from Iban, Bidayuh, Orang Ulu and Melanau. Islam is the second largest religion in Sarawak with 30% of Sarawak population are Muslim. Many Muslims are from Malay, Melanau and Kedayan ethnic groups. Buddhism is the third largest, predominantly practiced by Chinese, with slightly less than 20% professing it. Other significant religions in Sarawak are Baha'i, Hinduism, Sikhism and animism. Many Dayak especially Iban continue to practice traditional ceremonies, particularly with dual marriage rites and during the important harvest and ancestral festivals such as Gawai Dayak, Gawai Kenyalang and Gawai Antu. Other ethnics who still have trace number of animism followers are Melanau and Bidayuh.

Government

Unlike other states in Malaysia, Sarawak is divided into divisions rather than districts. Each division is headed by one Resident. Divisions are further divided into districts, each of which is headed by a District Officer; and each district is divided into sub-districts, each headed by an Administrative Officer.

Administrative Divisions

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

Administrative Districts

Each division is further divided into districts. There are 33 districts throughout Sarawak.

! Division	! District	! Subdistrict
Kuching	KuchingBauLundu	SiburanPadawanSematan
Samarahan	SamarahanAsajayaSimunjanSerian	SebuyauTebedu
Sri Aman	Sri AmanLubok Antu	LinggaPantuEngkilili
Betong	BetongSaratok	PusaSpaohDebakMaludamRobanKabongBudu
Sibu	SibuKanowitSelangau
Mukah	MukahDalatDaroMatu	BalingianOyaBelawaiIgan
Miri	MiriMarudi	SubisNiah-SuaiBeluruLong Lama
Bintulu	BintuluTatau	Sebauh
Limbang	LimbangLawas	Ng. MedamitSundarTrusan
Sarikei	SarikeiMeradongJulauPakan
Kapit	KapitSongBelaga	Nanga MeritSungai Asap

Energy

The state of Sarawak has introduced the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy.

Economy

Sarawak has an abundance of natural resources. LNG and petroleum have provided the mainstay of the Malaysia federal government's economy for decades while State of Sarawak only get a 5% royalty from it. Sarawak is also one of the world's largest exporters of tropical hardwood timber and is the major contributor to Malaysian exports. The last UN statistics estimated Sarawak's sawlog exports at an average of 14,109,000 m³ between 1996 and 2000.

Agriculture, logging and land usage

Sarawak's rainforests have been gradually depleted by the demand driven by the logging industry and the following introduction of palm oil plantations. Many of Sarawak's rural communities have felt changes affected by the economic activity of these industries. Peaceful protests and timber blockades between native communities and logging companies are common, often resulting in preventive police action. The Penan, Borneo's nomadic hunter gatherers have been most affected by these changes, complaining of illness through polluted rivers, game depletion resulting in widespread hunger and loss of traditional medicines and forest products. Their resistance to logging companies culminated in a series of protests and timber blockades in the 1990s, of which many were dismantled by the Police, within the remit of the Law. The Penan claim that their rights are not respected by the State nor by logging companies. Another example, the native customary rights court case of Rumah Nor in the Kemena Basin gave rural communities engaged in subsistence farming hope for continued communal use of land reserves. Although the Court of Appeal ruled against Rumah Nor on the grounds that they had not produced sufficient evidence for their claim, it nevertheless upheld the principles stated by the lower court. These principles are the basis of not only Rumah Nor's claim, but of the claims of all Sarawak's native communities, namely, (i) that native customary rights are NOT created by legislation, although they can be extinguished by legislation, on condition of adequate compensation, and (ii) that these communities have a territory including forest reserves and rivers, and farmland, including land under fallow. Thus although the Court of Appeal ruled against Rumah Nor's specific claims, it upheld the lower court's ruling in favour of Rumah Nor with regard to the general principles. In this sense, it represents a significant blow to the state's claims that native customary rights comprise only those rights recognised by the state through its legislation.

Conservation

In February 2011, the Government of Sarawak announced that it is intensifying wildlife conservation and protection activities as part of its commitment to sustainable development. Chief Minister Taib Mahmud said: "We must plan our development in a sustainable manner, to ensure that the prosperity of the State will not only be sustained but can be handed down to our children and grand-children."

A programme has been put in place to save the flora and fauna affected by the construction of the Bakun Hydro Electric Dam. A total of 349 species of flora, 65 species of fauna, 27 mammals and 38 bird species were identified and relocated to higher ground. There is now a conservation programme in place in the Bakun Dam catchment area and it is anticipated that the growth in eco-tourism will provide economic opportunities for local communities.

Other programmes include the Heart 2 Heart orangutan campaign which invites the public to get involved with orangutan conservation; orang-utan and turtle adoption; protection of the dugong (a large marine mammal) and the Irrawaddy dolphin, which are both endangered species; and the Reef Ball project that will rehabilitate Sarawak's ocean ecosystem by placing artificial reef modules in the sea to form new habitats. Reef balls have also proven their effectiveness in protecting turtles in Sarawak. In the early 1990s, between 70 to 100 turtle deaths were reported every year. Now, the number of deaths has been reduced significantly to less than 15 reported cases. Reef balls also protect traditional fishing areas and are used to create recreational diving sites.

Sanctuaries

In March 2011 the Chief Minister said the state had “reserved two million hectares of land for national parks and animal sanctuaries”.

Tourism

Tourism also plays a major part in the state's economy. In 2010, Sarawak was visited by 3,270,655 tourists (international and domestic tourists). As for 2011, the state is targeting 4 million visitors. This is in-line with more direct flights from countries such as Japan and South Korea. The Sarawak Hornbill Tourism Award is held each year to appreciate the best in the tourism sector of the state. Some of the most popular tourist attractions are Kuching city, Gunung Mulu National Park, the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) and many more. The RWMF is the region's premier "world music" event, attracting more than 20,000 music fans.

See also

Malaysia Agreement

Manila Accord

Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization

United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories

Kingdom of Sarawak

Flag of Sarawak

Sarawak dollar

Sarawak Stadium

Gunung Mulu National Park

References

Further reading

Gudgeon, L. W. W. (1913), ''British North Borneo''. London, Adam and Charles Black.

Runciman, Steven (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.

Cramb, R. A. (2007), ''Land and Longhouse: Agrarian Transformation in the Uplands of Sarawak'', Hawaii University Press

Julitta Lim Shau Hua: ''„Pussy's in the well“ : Japanese occupation of Sarawak, 1941–1945''. Research and Resource Centre SUPP Headquarters, Kuching 2006, ISBN 983-41998-2-1

Brooke, Sylvia (The last Ranee of Sarawak), (1970), ''Queen of the Headhunters''. William Morrow Co.

Palmer, Gladys, (1929) ''Relations & Complications. Being the Recollections of H.H. The Dayang Muda of Sarawak''. Foreword by T.P. O'Connor. Ghost-written by Kay Boyle. London, John Lane Co.

Urmenyhazi, Attila (2007) DISCOVERING NORTH BORNEO, A travelogue on Sarawak & Sabah by the author-graphic designer-publisher. National Library of Australia, Canberra, record ID: 4272798.

James Chin. “The More Things Change, The More They Remain The Same”, in Chin Kin Wah & D. Singh (eds.) South East Asian Affairs 2004 (Singapore: Institute of South East Asian Studies, 2004)

James Chin. “Autonomy: Politics in Sarawak” in Bridget Welsh (ed) Reflections: The Mahathir Years, (Washington DC: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004) (ISBN 9790615 124871) pp 240–251

External links

SarawakReport Seati ke Menua Sarawak

Sarawak online community forum website

Sarawak Community Pages

Sarawak government website

Sarawak Social Network Community

Sarawak National Parks

Sarawak News

WWF Heart of Borneo conservation initiative

Virtual Malaysia – the official portal of the ministry of tourism – Sarawak page

Independent News Portal for Sarawak's Indigenous Communities

Swiss Charity who support Sarawak's Indigenous Land Rights

American funded Charity Supporting Indigenous Development Initiatives and Conservation

Category:Borneo Category:States of Malaysia Category:Former British colonies

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