Mukim Serasa

This article is about the mukim subdivision. For the village, see Kampong Serasa.

Mukim Serasa
Mukim
Muara Naval Base
Serasa is in pink.
Coordinates: 5°00′29″N115°03′09″E / 5.00806°N 115.05250°E / 5.00806; 115.05250
Country	Brunei
District	Brunei-Muara
Government
•  Penghulu	Brunei–Muara District Office [1]
Population  (2021) [2]
• Total	18,569
Time zone	UTC+8 (BNT)
Postcode	BTxx28

Mukim Serasa is a mukim in Brunei-Muara District, Brunei. The population was 16,173 in 2016. ^[3] The mukim encompasses Muara Town, home to Muara Port, the country's only deepwater port.

Etymology

Serasa is thought to have been given its name by a group of migrant workers who arrived at one of the village's waterways. They took some of the pucuk gajus (cashew leaves) and pucuk pawas (sprouts) as side dishes when they stopped to rest and eat their prepared pais-paisan meals. They discovered the taste of the pucuk-pucuk to be serasa (fitted to their palates), after eating it. They settled there and gave the river the name Serasa. Meragang, means red monkey in Dusun. ^[4]

Geography

Mukim Serasa is the north-easternmost mukim in the district, its land border is only with Mukim Mentiri to the west; the rest are bounded by the South China Sea to the north and the Brunei Bay to the east and south.

There are several island bodies off the coast of Serasa and the two which are well-known include Pelong Rocks (Malay : Pulau Pilong-Pilongan) and Pulau Muara Besar. There are also two sand spits found on its coast: Pelumpong Spit, which is originally a spit but has become a narrow island when an artificial channel was cut to provide access to Muara Port; ^[5] and Serasa Spit, an artificial spit.

Demographics

As of the 2016 census, ^[3] the population of Mukim Serasa comprised 8,770 males and 7,403 females. The mukim had 2,946 households occupying 2,878 dwellings. The entire population lived in urban areas.

Villages

As of 2021, the mukim encompasses the following villages:

Settlements [2]	Population (2021) [2]	Ketua kampung (2024) [1] [6]
Kampong Kapok	3,001	Shahminan bin Haji Abdul Rahman
Kampong Sabun	1,163	Shahminan bin Haji Abdul Rahman (Acting)
Kampong Serasa	2,676	Abdul Hamid bin Haji Zinin @ Haji Zainin
RPN Kampong Serasa
Muara Town	2,539	Shahminan bin Haji Abdul Rahman (Acting)
Kampong Masjid Lama
Kampong Pelumpong
RPN Kampong Meragang Area 1	9,190	Madzlan bin Haji Jumat
RPN Kampong Meragang Area 2		Mohamad bin Haji Tamin

Infrastructure

Education

Pengiran Isteri Hajjah Mariam Secondary is the only secondary school within the mukim.

Meragang Sixth Form Centre, one of the few sixth form colleges in the country, is located in Kampong Meragang.

Housing

The RPN Kampong Meragang is a major residential project that would ultimately provide 1,933 housing units, primarily consisting of single detached bungalows, with some attached terrace houses included in phases H1 to H6. Additionally, a 41 hectares (100 acres) lot has been reserved for an extension to the scheme, potentially adding 2,500 more housing units as part of the 2012–2017 National Development Plan. This extension, if approved, would significantly impact population growth and the urban settlement structure of the district. A 0.8 hectares (2.0 acres) site within the scheme has also been designated for "apartments," though further details on the project are unavailable. ^[7]

Mosques

• Kampong Kapok Mosque
• Kampong Perpindahan Serasa Mosque
• Setia Ali Mosque

Places of interest

The coast of Serasa which borders the South China Sea is lined with the beaches of Meragang, Muara, and Tanjong Batu and they have been designated as places of recreation for the public.

The coast of the artificial Serasa Spit is also lined with beach features. The area of this Serasa Beach has also been made into a public recreational area. ^[8]

Brooketon Colliery is a disused coal mine. It was developed during the period of Charles Brooke's rule of Sarawak in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Muara Naval Base is home to the base of the Royal Brunei Navy. ^{[9] [10]}

References

1. BUKU DIREKTORI TELEFON PENGHULU-PENGHULU MUKIM DAN KETUA-KETUA KAMPUNG NEGARA BRUNEI DARUSSALAM (PDF) (in Malay). Vol. 4. Brunei: Bahagian Perancangan Daerah, Ministry of Home Affairs. April 2024. p. 17.
2. "Annex B" (PDF). DEPS.MoFE.gov.bn. Department of Economic Planning and Statistics, Ministry of Finance and Economy. October 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
3. "Population and Housing Census Update Final Report 2016" (PDF). www.deps.gov.bn. Department of Statistics. December 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
4. Mohd Yunos, Rozan (2013). SEMINAR UNITED NATIONS GROUP OF EXPERTS ON GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ASIA, SOUTHEAST DIVISION (PDF). pp. 9, 18.
5. "Ports department - Muara Port facilities". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
6. "Direktori Penghulu Mukim dan Ketua Kampung Daerah Brunei dan Muara". Jabatan Daerah Brunei dan Muara (in Malay). Retrieved 20 August 2024.
7. BRUNEI MUARA DISTRICT PLAN. Bandar Seri Begawan: Department of Town and Country Planning, Ministry of Development. January 2015. pp. 3–32.
8. "Department of Environment, Park and Recreation - Serasa Beach". www.env.gov.bn. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
9. "Sultan graces RBAF 56th Anniversary celebrations at Muara naval base – Borneo Bulletin Online". Borneo Bulletin Online. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
10. "Muara Naval Base - Naval Technology". Naval Technology. Retrieved 16 February 2018.