Sarawak
Malaysia
Sarawak is one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo (Sabah being the other). Located in northwest Borneo, Sarawak is bordered by the state of Sabah to the northeast, Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of Borneo, to the south, and the independent state of Brunei in the northwest. The capital city, Kuching, is the economic centre of the state and seat of the Sarawak state government. Other cities and towns in Sarawak include Miri, Sibu, and Bintulu. As of the 2015 census, the total population of Sarawak is 2,636,000. 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 Sarawak.
The earliest known human settlement in Sarawak, located at the Niah Caves, dates back to 40,000 years ago. A series of Chinese ceramics dated from the 8th to 13th century AD was uncovered at the archaeological 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, 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. On 22 July 1963, Sarawak was granted self-government by the British and subsequently became one of the founding members of the Federation of Malaysia, established on 16 September 1963. However, the federation was opposed by Indonesia leading to a three-year confrontation. The creation of the Federation also resulted in a communist insurgency that lasted until 1990.
The head of state is the Governor, also known as the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, while the head of government is the Chief Minister. Sarawak is divided into administrative divisions, and districts, governed by a system that is closely modeled on the Westminster parliamentary system and was the earliest state legislature system in Malaysia.
The economy of Sarawak is strongly export-oriented primarily in oil and gas, timber and oil palms, due to its abundance of natural resources, however, the state also has manufacturing, energy and tourism sectors. Sarawak exhibits notable diversity in ethnicity, culture, and language; major ethnic groups in Sarawak are: Iban, Malay, Chinese, Melanau, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu. English and Malay are the only two official languages of the state; there is no official religion. The Gawai Dayak is an annual festival celebrated on a public holiday, and a lute called sapeh is a traditional musical instrument.
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