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Sarawak. Information.
<FORM> <TEXTAREA size=2 NAME="COMMENTS" ROWS=20 COLS=50> SARAWAK is one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo During the 16th century, the area of Sarawak now known as Kuching was known to Portuguese cartographers as Cerava, one of the five great seaports on the island of Borneo. It was under the influence of the Bruneian Empire and 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. The Bruneian empire had authority only along the coastal regions of Sarawak held by semi-independent Malay leaders. Meanwhile, the interior hinterland of Sarawak was mainly dominated by tribal wars fought by Iban, Kayan, and Kenyah people who were aggressive in their territorial expansions. Following the discovery of antimony ore in the region now known as Kuching, Pangeran Indera Mahkota (a representative of the Sultan of Brunei) began to develop the area between 1824 and 1830. When antimony production increased, the Brunei Sultanate demanded higher taxes from Sarawak; this led to civil unrest and chaos. In 1839 Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II (1827–1852), the Sultan of Brunei, ordered Pangeran Muda Hashim (uncle to the Sultan of Brunei) to restore order; it was around this time that James Brooke (a British explorer) arrived in Sarawak. Pangeran Muda Hashim initially requested assistance in the matter, but Brooke refused. However, he agreed to the request in his next visit to Sarawak in 1841. Pangeran Muda Hashim signed a treaty in 1841 surrendering Sarawak to Brooke. On 24 September 1841, Pangeran Muda Hashim bestowed the title of governor on James Brooke. In 1846 Brooke effectively became the Rajah of Sarawak and founded the White Rajah Dynasty of Sarawak after the death of Pangeran Muda Hashim. Brooke ruled the area and expanded the territory northwards until his death in 1868. He was succeeded by his nephew Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke, who in turn was succeeded by his son, Charles Vyner Brooke, on the condition that Charles should rule in consultation with Vyner Brooke's brother Bertram Brooke. Both James and Charles Brooke signed treaties with Brunei as a strategy to expand the territorial boundaries of Sarawak. In 1861 the Bintulu region was ceded to James Brooke. In 1883 Sarawak was extended to the Baram River. Limbang was acquired in 1885 and later added to Sarawak in 1890. The expansion of Sarawak was completed in 1905 when Lawas was ceded to the Brooke government. Sarawak was divided into five divisions, corresponding to territorial boundaries of the areas acquired by the Brookes through the years. Each division was headed by a Resident. Sarawak was recognised as an independent state by the United States in 1850 and the United Kingdom in 1864. The state issued its first currency as the Sarawak dollar in 1858. However, in the Malaysian context, the Brooke is viewed as a colonialist. The Brooke dynasty ruled Sarawak for a hundred years as "White Rajahs". The dynasty adopted the policy of paternalism to protect the interests of the indigenous population and their overall welfare. The Brooke government established a Supreme Council consisting of Malay chiefs who advised the Rajahs on all aspects of governance. The first General Council meeting took place at Bintulu in 1867. The Supreme Council is the oldest state legislative assembly in Malaysia. Meanwhile, the Ibans and other Dayak people were hired as militia. The Brooke dynasty also encouraged the immigration of Chinese merchants for economic development in the state, especially in the mining and agricultural sectors. Western capitalists were restricted from entering the state while Christian missionaries were tolerated. Piracy, slavery, and headhunting were also banned. Borneo Company Limited was formed in 1856. It was involved in a wide range of businesses in Sarawak such as trade, banking, agriculture, mineral exploration, and development. In 1941, during the centenary celebration of the Brooke rule in Sarawak, a new constitution was introduced to limit the power of the Rajah and to allow the Sarawak people to play a greater role in the functioning of the government. However, the draft constitution contained irregularities, including a secret agreement drawn up between Charles Vyner Brooke and British government officials, in which Vyner Brooke ceded Sarawak as a British Crown Colony in return for a financial compensation to him and his family. The Brooke government, under the leadership of Charles Vyner Brooke, established several airstrips in Kuching, Oya, Mukah, Bintulu, and Miri for preparations in the event of war. By 1941, the British had withdrawn its defending forces from Sarawak and returned to Singapore. With Sarawak now unguarded, the Brooke regime decided to adopt a scorched earth policy where oil installations in Miri would be destroyed and Kuching airfield held as long as possible before being eventually destroyed. Meanwhile, Japanese forces decided to seize British Borneo to guard their eastern flank in the Malayan Campaign and to facilitate their invasion of Sumatra and West Java. A Japanese invasion force led by Kiyotake Kawaguchi landed in Miri on 16 December 1941 (eight days into the Malayan Campaign) and conquered Kuching on 24 December 1941. British forces led by Lieutenant Colonel C. M. Lane decided to retreat to Singkawang in Dutch Borneo bordering Sarawak. After ten weeks of fighting in Dutch Borneo, the Allied forces surrendered on 1 April 1942. When the Japanese invaded Sarawak, Charles Vyner Brooke had already left for Sydney (Australia) while his officers were captured by the Japanese and interned at the Batu Lintang camp. Sarawak remained part of the Empire of Japan for three years and eight months. Sarawak, together with North Borneo and Brunei, formed a single administrative unit named Kita Boruneo (Northern Borneo) under the Japanese 37th Army headquartered in Kuching. Sarawak was divided into three provinces, namely: Kuching-shu, Sibu-shu, and Miri-shu, each under their respective Japanese Provincial Governor. Basically, the Japanese retained pre-war administrative machinery and assigned Japanese for government positions. The administration of Sarawak's interior was left to the native police and village headmen, under Japanese supervision. Though the Malays were typically receptive toward the Japanese, other indigenous tribes such as the Iban, Kayan, Kenyah, Kelabit, and Lun Bawang maintained a hostile attitude toward them because of policies such as compulsory labour, forced deliveries of foodstuffs, and confiscation of firearms. The Japanese did not resort to strong measures in clamping down on the Chinese population because the Chinese in the state were generally apolitical. However, a considerable number of Chinese moved from urban areas into the less accessible interior to lessen contact with the Japanese. Allied forces later formed the Z Special Unit to sabotage Japanese operations in Southeast Asia. Beginning in March 1945, Allied commanders were parachuted into Borneo jungles and established several bases in Sarawak under an operation codenamed "Semut". Hundreds of indigenous people were trained to launch offensives against the Japanese. Intelligence gathered from the operations helped Allied forces (headed by Australia) to reconquer Borneo in May 1945 through Operation Oboe Six. This led to the surrender of the Japanese to the Australian forces on 10 September 1945 at Labuan, followed by the official surrender ceremony at Kuching aboard the Australian Corvette HMAS Kapunda on the next day.[66] Sarawak was immediately placed under British Military Administration until April 1946. After the war, the Brooke government did not have enough resources to rebuild Sarawak. Charles Vyner Brooke was also not willing to hand over his power to his heir apparent, Anthony Brooke (his nephew, the only son of Bertram Brooke) because of serious differences between them. Besides, Vyner Brooke's wife, Sylvia Brett, also tried to discredit Anthony Brooke while trying to install her own daughter to the throne. Therefore, Vyner Brooke decided to cede the sovereignty of Sarawak to the British Crown. A Cession Bill was put forth in the Council Negri (now Sarawak State Legislative Assembly) and was debated for three days. The bill was passed on 17 May 1946 with a narrow majority (19 versus 16 votes). Supporters of the bill were mostly European officers, while the Malays opposed the bill. This caused hundreds of Malay civil servants to resign in protest, sparking an anti-cession movement and the assassination of the second colonial governor of Sarawak Sir Duncan Stewart by Rosli Dhobi. Anthony Brooke opposed the cession of the Rajah's territory to the British Crown. However, he was linked to anti-cessionist groups in Sarawak, especially after the assassination of Sir Duncan Stewart. Anthony Brooke continued to claim sovereignty as Rajah of Sarawak even after Sarawak became a British Crown colony on 1 July 1946. For this he was banished from Sarawak by the colonial government and was allowed to return only 17 years later for a nostalgic visit, when Sarawak became part of Malaysia. In 1950 all anti-cession movements in Sarawak ceased after a clamp-down by the colonial government. In 1951 Anthony relinquished all his claims to the Sarawak throne after he used up his last legal avenues at the Privy Council.
