Sarawak

“ I,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, having been elected (or appointed) as a member (or Speaker) (or having become an ex officio member) of the Council Negri of the State of Sarawak, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully discharge my duties as such to the best of my ability, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the State of Sarawak and to the Federation of Malaysia and that I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the State of Sarawak. ”

“ The condition of the Sarawak Government was now serious, and surrounded with difficulties. The revenue was gone. There was not a shred of a document extant to tell the tale of former times. So complete was the ruin that the Rajah had to wear native costume, which he borrowed here and there.
But there was a bright spot amid the gloom, in the devotion of the natives; their sympathy, their kindness, their entire willingness 203to do what they could, are all balm to a wounded spirit. We have lost everything but the hearts of the people, and that is much to retain. ”

“ In 1872, certain criticisms upon the administration drew forth a rejoinder which appeared in the Sarawak Gazette of September 2, and as it so clearly lays down the Rajah's opinions and his policy we give it in full:
It is easy enough to find weak places in any system, and to give it credit on the whole for less than it deserves, because we disapprove of it in part. It is as easy, especially if one has played an important part in it oneself, to over-estimate its benefits. ”

“ As Brunei decayed, Sarawak grew stronger. Its territory was enlarged from time to time and its prosperity has proved the benefit derived by the native inhabitants from strong and firm control.
An island rather larger than Guernsey, Labuan is the only British territory, as opposed to a Protectorate, which we shall find in this region. Rounding a headland we turn northwards into a broad and deep inlet, and come to anchor opposite a small town of white houses with red roofs and a background of low hills; this is Victoria, the capital and only town. ”

“ But considering the past history of Sarawak, and bearing in mind how well that country has since done without extraneous aid, it would seem to have been a pity that Sarawak ever attracted the attention of England, and that the Rajah ever sought for encouragement or protection there. Sarawak has stood the test of nearly seventy years as an independent State, and continues its prosperous career, without owing anything to any one, and requiring only to be let alone. ”

“ The English ships were left, the Albatross at Sarawak, and the Royalist to guard the entrance of the Batang Lupar River, into which the Sakarran and Sarebas Rivers débouche; but their boats, and nearly all the officers, accompanied the fleet, and the steamer Nemesis went also. On the 24th of July they left us, as many as eighteen Malay prahus, manned by from twenty to seventy men in each, and decorated with flags and streamers innumerable, of the brightest colours,—the Sarawak flag, a red and black cross on a yellow ground, always at the stern. ”

“ No one can assert that it is possible to find a man with greater qualifications as a ruler of natives or with a greater knowledge of Bruni and its people than the Rajah of Sarawak, or one whose counsel would have greater weight with chiefs and people, to whom the task of reforming and regenerating that country might with wisdom have been entrusted. ”

“ A distinction must be made, which it will be as well to again note here, between the Malays of Bruni and those of Sarawak, in other works described—the former as Borneans, and the latter as Siniawans. They are very different in appearance, manners, and even in language. There are not many Brunis in Sarawak now. Most returned to their own country with Rajah Muda Hasim when he retired there in 1844, and others drifted thither later. All the Malays in Kuching, except a sprinkling of foreigners, are Sarawak Malays, the descendants of the so-called Siniawans. ”

“ When we left we could not but draw an unfavourable contrast between the ancient town and the young capital of the adjacent State of Sarawak, Kuching, which we had lately visited. There, under European rule, the jungle has been cleared, and a well built and planned town has sprung up, with good roads, handsome public buildings, an efficient police—all the essentials of civilisation in fact; Malays, Dayaks, and Chinese live and trade amicably together, and all the resources of a rich country are being opened up ”

“ One order recommended the people to go out of the country and "live under the white man in Sarawak till they rotted" if they would not pay the exorbitant taxes demanded of them. Sarawak people, collecting produce in the jungle, or even when fishing along the coast, had their goods and boats seized.
In reply to the Rajah's despatches complaining of these outrages, the Sultan expressed friendship for Sarawak and a desire to foster trade, and in one or two cases actually made reparation ”

“ In a country like Sarawak, peopled by Easterns of so great a diversity of races, customs and ideas, an union of the people for their common weal is an impossibility. For them the best and only practical form of government is that which 424they now enjoy, a mild and benevolent despotism, under a Ruler of a superior and exotic race, standing firm and isolated amidst racial jealousies, as no native Ruler could do, and unsuspected of racial partiality; a Ruler upon whom all can depend as a common friend, and a Ruler who has devoted his life to their common welfare. ”

“ But the pride of Sarawak must always be the Sea Dyaks who live on the Batang Lupar, the Seribas and the right-hand branches of the Rejang. These were the destructive pirates of the coast, who put to sea in large fleets of fast vessels, and ravaged every district they could reach. ”

“ A deep and intricate plot had been formed, the active principals in Sarawak being the Sherip Masahor, the Datu Haji, and the Bandar Kasim, and trustworthy intelligence was subsequently received that they were being backed up by the Bruni Government, or rather the dominant party there, by whom an agent had been despatched along the coast to extort goods from the natives, and to communicate with the Sherip, to whom a kris was presented with which the white men in Sarawak were to be put to death. ”

“ The population of Sarawak is very varied. In all its districts, with the exception of the Milanau rivers and Baram, there is an indigenous Malay population, who are born traders and fishermen, and only cultivate as it were under protest, but they do grow a little rice, a few rough vegetables, and lately some have made small coffee gardens. As a rule they neglect the last, or overcrowd the plants with other products. ”

“ A less fierce heat, but rain almost every day in the year, was our lot at Sarawak; and though it was very healthy for English men and women, it was not so good for crops: pepper and coffee prefer a drier climate.
There will be one difficulty in the North Borneo settlement which will require wise handling. I mean the slaves which are the possession of every petty chief and every Malay family in the country. All pirates bring home fresh slaves from every expedition. ”

“ The Rajah wisely gave way to what has since proved to be the better judgment of his nephews, and he wrote to the Tuan Muda, "as my views for Sarawak are at an end, and as we are now to run the risk, with a rational prospect of success, to sustain the Government I will loyally and cheerfully work to falsify my own convictions. Time brings changes, and may work upon the British Government. ”

“ Sarawak has no mechanical industries of importance or capable of much development. Many Melanaus are able carpenters, boatbuilders, and blacksmiths. Amongst Malays are to be found some good shipbuilders and coppersmiths, and a few fairly skilful as silver and goldsmiths, but almost all the skilled labour is in the hands of the Chinese. In such domestic arts as weaving cotton and silk cloths, and plaiting mats, baskets, and hats, the native women are expert, and produce very excellent work.
THE BORNEO COMPANY'S CYANIDE WORKS AT BAU. ”

“ In Sarawak territory, Kayans and Melanaus sacrificed slaves to propitiate evil spirits. To ensure good luck to a chief's new house, the first post was driven through the body of a young virgin. When they were afflicted with epidemics, it was the custom to sacrifice a young girl by placing her in a canoe, and allowing her to drift out to sea with the ebb tide. At the death of a chief, slaves were tied to posts near the coffin of the deceased and starved to death, in order that they might be ready to act as attendants on their master in another world. ”

“ The country is traversed by fine rivers. The Rejang, four fathoms deep two hundred miles from the mouth, the Batang Lupar, and the Sarawak are the largest, and the great highways of the country; along the banks of which are [241] cultivated clearings and Dyak villages, but beyond these extend dense jungle which even clothes the sides of the mountains. Besides the before-mentioned rivers are many smaller ones which are still noble streams—the Sarebas, Samarahan, Sadong, Lundu, etc. It is indeed a well-watered country, and only requires the industry of man to develop its riches. ”

“ At any rate we have much to be thankful for, and as every year makes Sarawak a more important State, consolidates its Government, and extends civilization to its subjects, we may look for more success for the missionaries, who can now point to the peace and prosperity of the people, and say, "This is the fruit of Christianity and Christian rulers." ”

“ It is pleasant to record the general reciprocity of good feeling which is such a characteristic of the Sarawak community, cordially uniting Europeans and natives in bonds of mutual consideration and esteem. The barriers of race and rank are obliterated in this mutual and cordial goodwill. Together with representatives of the people, there was at the Astana a large sprinkling of the Malay aristocracy, which has always shown itself faithful to the enlightened government of the Brookes, even at the most critical times. ”

“ The highlands, the spine of Borneo, along which runs the frontier, is no mountain ridge, but a broken upland district, that forms the watershed of the great rivers of Sarawak on 378one side, and the still greater rivers of Dutch Borneo on the other. It is a region difficult of access from the coast on both sides, and long after the Dayaks living lower down had become peaceful, turbulence and internecine warfare remained chronic in the interior. ”

“ What other Federal powers would Sarawak like to keep as State powers? The Prime Minister of Malaya has already agreed that migration to Sarawak from the other States of Malaysia is a matter on which the Sarawak Government can maintain control. The method by which this may be achieved can be devised by constitutional experts. If it becomes necessary for the development of the economic potential of Sarawak to have more people from other parts of Malaysia this will be decided by the people of Sarawak themselves. ”

“ Sarawak has to-day a coast-line of over four hundred miles, with an area of fifty thousand square miles, and a population of three hundred thousand souls. The country produces gold, silver, diamonds, antimony, [97] quicksilver, coal, gutta-percha, rubber, canes, rattan, camphor, beeswax, edible bird’s-nests, sago, tapioca, pepper, and tobacco, all of which find their way to Singapore, and thence to Europe and America. ”

“ The poorer classes, who had heard of the peace and security enjoyed by the inhabitants of Sarawak, openly expressed their desire that the Rajah should remain and govern conjointly with Pangiran Muda Hasim. Labuan island, which the Sultan now offered the Rajah, was examined, and the Rajah considered it superior to Kuching for a settlement, as being in a more central and more commanding position. ”

“ It was a dog-in-the-manger policy, what Labuan could not have, that it was resolved Sarawak should not have, and the interests of the people were left out of the question. It is possible enough that this was inspired by jealousy. No man likes to see his own field sterile and that of his neighbour producing luxurious crops. ”

“ But though we describe the society of Sarawak as being now a completed structure, the simile is inadequate and might mislead. The structure is not that of a rigid building, but of a living organisation; and its efficiency and permanence depend upon the unceasing activities of all its parts, each conscious of the whole and of its own essential role in the life of the whole, and each animated by a common spirit of unswerving devotion to, and untiring effort in the cause of, the whole. The Rajah's power rests upon the broad base of the people's willing co-operation ”

“ I will quote the Sarawak Gazette of September 1, 1894: ‘Some months back a most unaccountable scare took possession of the Asiatic population of Sarawak Proper—Malays, Chinese, Dyaks and others being similarly affected. It was at first rumoured that the Government required human heads to place under the foundations of the new high level reservoir at the waterworks, and that men were sent out at night to procure these.... Other equally absurd stories followed and were fully believed, many natives going so far as to assert that they had met with these head hunters about the native town at night. ”

“ We have shown how this has been achieved, and "if it is owing to Sir James Brooke that Sarawak is now a civilised 418state, his nephew, the present Rajah, has the high merit of having completed and extended that work, following out the humane and liberal views of his uncle. The name of Brooke will always have an honoured place in the history of the development of civilisation in the Far East." ”