Picture : Heart of Kuching

Picture : South City Council Hall

Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, is a cosmopolitan city, with a population of 460,200 (Year 2000 estimate), made up of a variety of races. Predominant races are Malay and Chinese. But, Kuching is also made up of almost all of Sarawak's 26-plus ethnic groups from the Bidayuhs (Land Dayaks) to Ibans (Sea Dayaks) to Melanau to Orang Ulu.

The name Kuching is a word derived from a Malay word, meaning, "cat". The likelihood that cats had anything to do with the name is superseded by other explanations; the Chinese used the word "kochin" to mean harbor or the abundance of "mata kuching" or "cat's eyes" fruits found.

Picture : Cat Monument,Kuching,Sarawak.



Sarawak, the largest of the 13 states of Malaysia, is located on the northwestern shore of Borneo Island, between 110° and 115° longitude east and between 1° and 5° latitude north (GMT +8). Sarawak shares Borneo with the Malaysian State of Sabah, Sultanate of Brunei and the Indonesian province of Kalimantan.

In the 9th Century AD, a kingdom called Po-Ni existed in Sarawak, which traded with Chinese Merchants. This kingdom, later known as Brunei, controlled most of Borneo from the 10th to the 15th Centuries. The 16th to 19th Centuries however saw a decline in Brunei's influence.

When James Brooke, a wealthy English adventurer, arrived in the settlement of Kuching in 1839, he found the locals in rebellion against the Bruneian Governor. He put down the rebellion and, as a reward was appointed Rajah of Sarawak in 1841. His nephew Charles Brooke succeeded him in 1868, who expanded his area of control until it reached Sarawak's present borders. Charles was in turn succeeded by his son, Charles Vyner Brooke in 1917.

Picture : James Brooke

After World War II, Vyner Brooke ceded Sarawak to the British Crown Colony. Opposition from the Sarawakians to this move resulted in the assassination of Duncan Stewart, the Governor in 1949. In 1963, Sarawak (together with Sabah) joined the Malay federation to form Malaysia. However, Indonesia, under President Sukarno, opposed this move and waged guerrilla warfare (known as the "Confrontation") against the State. The conflict ended in 1965 when Sukarno was ousted.

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