Sarawak is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, Kalimantan to the south, and Brunei in the north. The state capital, Kuching, is the largest city in Sarawak, the economic centre of the state, and the seat of the Sarawak state government. Other cities and towns in Sarawak include Miri, Sibu, and Bintulu. As of the 2020 Malaysia census, the population of Sarawak 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 the longest river in Malaysia; Bakun Dam, one of the largest dams in Southeast Asia, is located on one of its tributaries, the Balui River. Mount Murud is the highest point in the state. Sarawak is the only state of Malaysia with a Christian majority.
East Malaysia, or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia on and near the island of Borneo, the world's third-largest island. East Malaysia comprises the states of Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territory of Labuan. The small independent nation of Brunei comprises two enclaves in Sarawak. To the south and southeast is the Indonesian portion of Borneo, Kalimantan. East Malaysia lies to the east of Peninsular Malaysia, the part of the country on the Malay Peninsula. The two are separated by the South China Sea.
Kuching officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River at the southwestern tip of Sarawak on the island of Borneo and covers an area of 431 km2 (166 sq mi) with a population about 157,920 in the Kuching North administrative region and 280,982 in the Kuching South administrative region—a total of 438,902 people.
Singkawang, or San-Khew-Jong, is a coastal city and port located in the province of West Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo in Indonesia. It is located at about 145 km north of Pontianak, the provincial capital, and is surrounded by the Pasi, Poteng, and Sakkok mountains. Singkawang is derived from the Salako language, which refers to a very wide area of swamps. In addition, the ancestors of the Hakka Chinese community in Sakawokng also named this area in Hakka as "San-Khew-Jong" (Mount-Mouth-Sea), which means "A city located at the foot of a mountain near the sea and has a river that flows up to the mouth of the river (estuary)."
Bidayuh is the collective name for several indigenous groups found in southern Sarawak, Malaysia and northern West Kalimantan, Indonesia, on the island of Borneo, which are broadly similar in language and culture. The name Bidayuh means 'inhabitants of land'. Originally from the western part of Borneo, the collective name Land Dayak was first used during the period of Rajah James Brooke, the White Rajah of Sarawak. At times, they were also lesser referred to as Klemantan people. They constitute one of the main indigenous groups in Sarawak and West Kalimantan and live in towns and villages around Kuching and Serian in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, while in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan they are mainly concentrated in the northern Sanggau Regency. In Sarawak, most of Bidayuh population can be found within 40 km of the geographical area known as Greater Kuching, within the Kuching and Serian Division. They are the second-largest Dayak ethnic group in Sarawak after the Iban and one of the major Dayak tribes in West Kalimantan.
Lundu is a town and the capital of Lundu District located in the northwest of Kuching Division of Sarawak, Malaysia, and borders the Indonesian Province of West Kalimantan.
Datu Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah was a Sarawakian politician in Sarawak who participated in the movement opposing cessation to the British Empire. He was the son of Datu Bandar Abang Haji Mohammad Kassim; who served as mayor of Kuching under the White Rajah's administration. He was also the grandson of Datu Bandar Abang Haji Bolhassan and a descendant of Datu Patinggi Ali who fought to achieve Sarawak's independence from Brunei. After the death of his father in Mecca, in 1922, he was given the title Datu Muda. In 1924, he became the Datu Bandar and then in 1939, he was given the title Datu Patinggi.
Mount Pueh, also known as Mount Pueh-Berumput, Mount Poi and Mount Poe, is a mountain located near Lundu, Sarawak on the Malaysia-Indonesia border. Mount Pueh was known to biologists for the collections made there by Eric Mjöberg (1882–1938), a Swedish naturalist, who was Curator of the Sarawak Museum between 1922 and 1924. Mjöberg's herpetological collections from Gunung Pueh between October and December 1923, and other localities in Borneo, were reported by Smith (1925). Mjöberg, unfortunately, left little by way of written records, of his ascent of Pueh and the collections he made.
The Simunjan District is a district in the Samarahan Division of Sarawak, Malaysia, located between Serian and Sri Aman. It borders Sebuyau and Samarahan and lies approximately 51.4 kilometres (32 mi) east-south-east of the state capital Kuching.
The Kuching Wetlands National Park is a national park in Petra Jaya, Kuching District, Kuching Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is the remains of the former Sarawak Mangrove Forest Reserve which covered 170 km2.
The History of Sarawak can be traced as far as 40,000 years ago to the paleolithic period where the earliest evidence of human settlement is found in the Niah caves. A series of Chinese ceramics dated from the 8th to 13th century AD was uncovered at the archeological site of Santubong. The coastal regions of Sarawak came under the influence of the Bruneian Empire in the 16th century. In 1839, James Brooke, a British explorer, first arrived in Sarawak. Sarawak was later governed by the Brooke family between 1841 and 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. On 22 July 1963, Sarawak was granted self-government by the British. Following this, it became one of the founding members of the Federation of Malaysia, established on 16 September 1963. However, the federation was opposed by Indonesia, and this led to the three-year Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. From 1960 to 1990, Sarawak experienced a communist insurgency.
Wan Junaidi bin Tuanku Jaafar is a Malaysian politician, lawyer and former senior police officer who is the eighth and current Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak. He previously served as the 19th President of the Dewan Negara and Senator from June 2023 to his resignation in January 2024.
Sarawak's population is very diverse, comprising many races and ethnic groups. Sarawak has more than 40 sub-ethnic groups, each with its own distinct language, culture and lifestyle. This makes Sarawak demography very distinct and unique compared to its Peninsular counterpart. However, it largely mirrors to other territories in Borneo – Sabah, Brunei and Kalimantan.
Ibrahim Ali Omar Shah Ibni Muhammad Hassan, also known as Sultan Tengah or Raja Tengah, was the first and only Sultan of the Sultanate of Sarawak. He is the son of Sultan Muhammad Hasan of Brunei.
Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Openg, popularly known as Abang Jo or Abang Johari, is a Malaysian politician who is currently serving as the premier of Sarawak since 2017. He has been Member of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Gedong since 2021, having previously being the MLA for Satok from 1981 to 2021. He is the son of the first Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governor) of Sarawak, Abang Openg Abang Sapiee.
The Sultanate of Sarawak was a Malay kingdom, located in present-day Kuching Division, Sarawak. The kingdom was founded in 1599, after the conquest of the preceding Santubong Kingdom and the later Sultanate of Brunei.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr. James Jemut Masing was a Malaysian politician who served as the Deputy Chief Minister, State Minister of Infrastructure and Ports Development of Sarawak under Chief Ministers Adenan Satem and Abang Abdul Rahman Johari Abang Openg as well as Member of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Baleh from May 2016, January 2017 and December 1983 to his death in October 2021 respectively.
The Santubong National Park is a national park in Kuching Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, 35 km north of Kuching. It contains the 810m peak of Mount Santubong and surrounding rainforested slopes. There are a number of jungle treks in the park, including to the peak. Wildlife in the park include proboscis monkeys and rhinoceros hornbills.
Datu Patinggi Abang Ali bin Abang Amir was a key figure in the Sarawak Malays' resistance against the Brunei Empire, which they waged throughout Pengiran Indera Mahkota and Raja Muda Hashim's reign in the 1830s. He became one of the first supporters of the Brooke Raj and was hailed as Sarawak's first national hero. He played an important role in the 1830s uprising against Bruneian authority. In an endeavor to oppose Brunei's attempts to subjugate Sarawak through local leaders, he was described by contemporaries as a determined and courageous leader. After the Sarawak dispute ended, Brooke appointed Ali as an aide-de-camp.
