Sarawak is the largest of the 13 states that make up Malaysia.
Covering an area of about 124,000 sq km, it stretches some 700 km
along the northwestern coast of Borneo (the third largest island
in the world) and is flanked by Kalimantan (Indonesia) in the
south, and Sabah and Brunei in the north.
Separated from Peninsula Malaysia by the South China Sea, it has
a warm and equable climate, with an average annual temperature
of 25.6 deg C. The rainy season or landas is between November and February.
The average annual rainfall is between 330 cm and 460 cm.
Sarawak's history is colourful, filled
with adventure, piracy, head-hunting and romance. When English
adventurer James Brooke arrived in 1839, Sarawak was rebelling
under the rule of the Brunei sultanate. As a reward for the role
he played in quelling the rebellion, the Pengiran Mahkota of Brunei
made Brooke the Rajah of Sarawak in 1841. James was succeeded
by his nephew Charles Brooke in 1868, who, in turn was succeeded
by his eldest son, Charles Vyner, in 1917.
During the second World War, Sarawak was occupied by the Japanese
forces, but it was subsequently ceded to Britain after the war
and became a British Crown Colony. On 16th September 1963, Sarawak
joined the Federation of Malaysia, and today she observes a democratic
system of government.
Kuching (pop. 306,000) is the economic and political centre of
the state, and was declared a city on 1st August, 1988. Miri,
the longest town, lies next to the oil-rich sultanate of Brunei.
It's economy is largely dependent on its rich natural resources,
particularly oil, liquefied natural gas. (LNG), timber and the
famous Sarawak black and white pepper. Nevertheless, it is also
a state developed in agriculture, commerce, and industries. Apart
from the petroleum products and timber, other important exports
are coconut oil, rubber, palm oil, cocoa beans and urea. Its tourism
industry is growing and fulfilling its tremendous potential.
The Iban forms the largest indigenous group, comprising 29.6%
of the population, while Chinese comprises 29.1%, Malay - 20.7%
Bidayuh (formerly known as Land Dayaks) - 8.4%, Melanau - 5.8%.
Other indigenous peoples of Sarawak fall under the orang ulu ethnic
category and make up a further 5.4% of the population.
Although Islam is the official religion of the state, the people of Sarawak
enjoy religious freedom. Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism are
widely practised , while some forms of paganism still exists in
the rural interior.
More information on Sarawak:
This page: http://www.cockatoo.com/english/malaysia/malaysia_sarawak.htm
