History

Sarawak was a part of the Sultanate of Brunei 200 years ago but as a reward for its help in putting down a rebellion, it was ceded to a British adventurer called James Brooke who ruled it as his personal kingdom. Kuching was made his capital and headquarters. The Brooke family ruled Sarawak until the Japanese occupation in December 1941. Kuching surrendered to the Japanese forces on 24 December 1941, and Sarawak was part of the Japanese Imperial Empire for three years and eight months, until the official Japanese surrender on 11 September 1945 on board HMAS Kapunda at Kuching. From March 1942 the Japanese operated a POW and civilian internee camp at Batu Lintang, three miles outside Kuching. After the end of World War II the third and last Rajah, Sir Charles Vyner Brooke ceded Sarawak to the British Crown in 1946. Sarawak and the British Commonwealth fought an "Undeclared War" with Indonesia to keep Sarawak from being absorbed into Sukarno's Indonesia. The British gave Sarawak independence in 1963 and together with North Borneo (Sabah) and Singapore, helped form Malaysia. (Singapore became independent soon after).

Kuching

Kuching is the capital of the East Malaysian State of Sarawak. Kuching is the most populous city in the state of Sarawak and the fourth largest city in Malaysia. Kuching was elevated to city status on 1 August 1988.

The city of Kuching is located in the district of Kuching. The district covers an area of 1,863 square kilometres, and is one of three districts within Kuching Division. The district of Kuching is administered by three local governments. The administration of Kuching city is divided into two local governments and even has two mayors. The northern section of Kuching is run by Dewan Bandaraya Kuching Utara (Kuching North City Hall) covering an area of 369.48 square kilometres. The southern section is administrated by Majlis Bandaraya Kuching Selatan (Kuching South City Council) covering a smaller but a more densely populated area of 61.53 square kilometres. There are those who believe that the divisions in power for the Northern (primarily Malay and Bumi residents) and Southern (primarily Chinese residents) districts came about due to ethnic reasons in the 1980s. There are also those who believe the administration is divided due to geographical reasons, as the Northern and Southern districts are linked by only two bridges spanning the Sarawak River. The third local government is Majlis Perbandaran Padawan or Padawan Municipal Council (formerly known as Kuching Rural District Council) which mainly administers the rural areas within Kuching district. It covers a large portion of Kuching district with an area of 1,431.82 square kilometres.