The First White Rajah

I guess I should really begin with a posting on James Brooke, the first White Rajah of Sarawak. You will find that I will jump around a bit in this blog, depending on what material I have on hand.

Let's first quickly run through the basic facts about the First White Rajah, as covered in most textbooks ...

Born in Benares, India in 1803, and schooled in England, James Brooke became a soldier and was badly injured in the First Anglo-Burmese War.of 1825. After recuperating in England, he tried to rejoin his army unit but was too late, so he made a visit to China before returning to England. When his father died, he inherited a small fortune and bought a schooner which he named "The Royalist". He sailed for the Far East and arrived in Sarawak in August 1839. On request by Raja Muda Hashim (uncle of the Sultan of Brunei), he helped quell a local rebellion, and for that he was made Rajah of Sarawak on 24 September 1841. By most accounts he was a fair ruler with affection for his subjects. He quelled piracy, tried to stop the practice of headhunting and put in place a good legal and administrative system for Sarawak. He also gradually expanded the region called Sarawak (at the expense of Brunei). James Brooke was knighted in 1847. He ruled Sarawak until his death in 1868. His nephew Charles Johnson-Brooke succeeded him.

And there you have it ... the concise history of the First White Rajah's reign. Now this blog will go deeper into the history and try to reveal more interesting details ...

Sources of Information

For all my postings, I will of course refer to the usual textbooks for the usual information. But I will go further and try to get information from sources which may not be as readily available.

For example, I recently got hold of some (incomplete) compilations of Sir James Brooke's private letters written from before the time he came to Sarawak (the first letter was dated 7 December 1838), up until a few years before he left Sarawak for good (the last letter was on 28 September 1953). There were supposed to be three volumes of letters, but so far I've only got Volume I and Volume III. I will hunt around for the missing volume.

In addition to these, I also have another smaller volume  under the title of "A Vindication of his Character and Proceedings in Reply to the Statements Privately Printed and Circulated by Joseph Hume, Esq. M.P. addressed to Henry Drummond, Esq. M.P.". This was printed in 1853 and this coincides with the period where some British politicians criticised certain of his expeditions as being unfair and cruel to some of the natives.

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Finally, a couple of months back, I ordered an old book which comprised letters James Brooke wrote to a lady friend (some say they had a romantic relationship) named Baroness Angela Burdett Coutts.  In fact Burdett Coutts also helped fund some of James Brooke's projects in Sarawak, so I think Sarawakians should know more about her and even be somewhat grateful to her.

Well, I'll go into these areas more in a future posting. That's it for today. Do feedback what you think.

So with these and other sources (some of which I hope YOU the reader can provide), I think we should be able to write a more complete history of James Brooke's rule of Sarawak.

Perspectives of Sarawak History

I came across this familiar looking book in the library recently ...

It brought back memories of my history lessons in Form 2 or Form 3. I'm sure most of my generation in Sarawak went through this book during that time. I recall reading stories of exciting battles and uprisings and rebels and pirates.

Of course at that time, the White Rajahs and the British were portrayed as the good guys, and the baddies were Rentap (the Iban chief of Bukit Sadong fame), Sharif Masahor (the Melanau warrior) , Liu Shan Bang (leader of the 1857 Chinese Uprising) and Rosli Dhobi (who assasinated the second British governor Sir Duncan Stewart in 1949).

Nowadays the history books, written during the post-Malaysian independence era, tell a slightly different story. The White Rajahs and British are exposed as imperialist exploiters of our innocent land and people, whilst Rentap, Masahor, Liu and Rosli Dhobi are local heroes, fighting for their people and way of life.  I found some interesting website links on Rentap , Sharif Masahor, Liu and Rosli Dhobi that you might want to check out ...

All this goes to support two important lessons that I've heard from different people: "History is written by the eventual victors" and also "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter".  Both good points to remember to give yourself greater perspective as you read about events of the past, and even as you observe current happenings around the globe.

On Sarawak history, I suppose the truth - if there's any such thing - lies somewhere in between these two extremes. Few people are really 100 percent good just as no one is ever totally evil. It's usually not a case of simply black or white, but many shades in-between.
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Welcome to 'The Story of Sarawak'

Welcome to this blog on "The Story of Sarawak".

I am a Sarawakian, born in Miri (my birth certificate states that I was born in the Shell Oilfields Hospital). My family moved around the state when I was very young (so I've stayed in Bintulu, Sebuyau etc). Eventually I did my schooling years in Kuching, before going abroad for further education. Even though I'm now based outside Sarawak, I try to go back as often as I can ... and one day I will go home for good.

I've always liked History back during my schooldays, but over the past few years I have taken a special interest in the colourful history of Sarawak. Few places tell such a riveting story that includes pirates, headhunters, explorers, rebellions, war, love & enmity, colonisation, occupation and independence. This blog is intended to bring some of those stories to others who may not be as familiar. Even Sarawakians may learn something new about their glorious past.

Recently one of my schoolmates mentioned a certain textbook in a Facebook discussion. It was called "The Story of Sarawak" and written by Vernon Mullen. I remember that this book was used when I was in primary school back in the 60s.. I wish I had preserved my copy for posterity ... especially since I'm quite sure my old textbook was a First Edition (the one shown below is the Second Edition).

A lesson to schoolchildren today ... don't be too hasty to throw away your old textbooks after exams are over. They might be valuable one day.

For those who know this book, have you ever wondered who Vernon Mullen was? Well, I did some investigation. Apparently he was a Canadian educator who did some teaching of English in different parts of the world, including Sudan, Ethiopia, Sarawak and China. Mullen was in Sarawak from 1957-1963 and again from 1965-1968. Apart from the familiar history book above, he also published his memoirs "Them Lions Will Eat Them Up: Teaching English Around the World" (Voyageur Pub, 1999). I'm still looking for a copy for my collection so if anyone has any ideas where I can find one ...

So inspired by Mullen's textbook, I've decided to also call my blog "The Story of Sarawak". Well, once again welcome to this blog. Check back frequently as there will be regular postings. My name is James Yong and I will be your Website Jaga (Malay for "Guardian of the Website"), to guide you on this journey through the annals of Sarawak history. 

I also urge you to contribute whatever you know about Sarawak history and traditions. Send me info, photos, clippings and anything interesting. I can be reached at jslyong@hotmail.com . If relevant, I promise to post your contributions. Together we can create a rich tapestry on the story of Sarawak, beyond what any static textbook can offer.