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 (the Indonesian portion of Borneo) 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 (the Sultan of Brunei's uncle) purportedly uttered when he gave Sarawak to James Brooke, an English explorer, in 1841: "Saya serah pada awak" ("I surrender it to you"). 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" (Bumi Kenyalang). 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 (located southwest of Miri) 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 (8th to 13th century AD, respectively) found at Santubong (near Kuching) 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.Coedes, Indianized States, Page 128, 132. 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.Journal of Southeast Asian Studies Vol. 14, No. 1 (Mar. 1983) Page 40. Published by: Cambridge University Press. 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 (Mindoro), Malilu 麻裏蘆 (present-day Manila), Shahuchong 沙胡重 (present-day Siocon), Yachen 啞陳 (Oton), and 文杜陵 Wenduling (present-day Mindanao),Reading Song-Ming Records on the Pre-colonial History of the Philippines By Wang Zhenping Page 256. which would regain their independence at a later date.Quanzhou to the Sulu Zone and beyond: Questions Related to the Early Fourteenth Century By: Roderich Ptak. Page 280
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 (Madja-as) 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(ng) among the 14 tributaries of Majapahit. After the fall of Majapahit, Barune(ng) expanded its territory along the northern coast of Borneo.Brunei Rediscovered: A Survey of Early Times By Robert Nicholl p. 35 citing Ferrand. Relations, page 564-65. Tibbets, Arabic Texts, pg 47. 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 BorneoMing shi, 325, p. 8411, p. 8422. 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.
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 (1827–1852) 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 (heir apparent) in 1939.