Crown Colony of Sarawak

After the end of Japanese occupation in Sarawak on 11 September 1945, British Military Administration with John Fitzpatrick took over Sarawak for seven months before handing it back to Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke on 15 April 1946.[3] Charles Vyner Brooke arrived in Sarawak on 15 April 1946 to receive the handover. He was generally well received by the Sarawak population. During the Japanese occupation, Sarawak had suffered a total loss of 23 million dollars (excluding 57 million in losses by Sarawak oil company) due to the destruction of oilfields, airstrips, and rubber plantations. Vyner Brooke found that he did not have enough resources to develop Sarawak. He did not have any male heir to inherit the position of White Rajah. Vyner Brooke also lacked confidence in the leadership abilities of Bertram Brooke (Vyner's brother) and Anthony Brooke (Bertram Brooke's son) to govern Sarawak. Vyner Brooke hoped that with the cession of Sarawak as a British crown colony, the British would be able to rebuild Sarawak's infrastructure and develop its postwar economy. The news of the cession of Sarawak first came to light on 8 February 1946; there was a mixed response from the Sarawak people. The Iban, the Chinese, and the Melanau community received the news positively. However, the majority of the Malays were against the cession of Sarawak to the British government. British representatives conducted a survey among the various ethnic groups in Sarawak regarding the cession issue. On 10 May 1946, a report was compiled and sent to the Colonial Office in London, which included the following:[4]

... there was sufficient acquiescent or favourable opinion in the country as a whole to justify the question of cession being brought before the Council Negri of Sarawak, and they strongly urged that there should be no postponement of that action.

However, according to ABC Radio Melbourne, Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke would receive £1 million in sterling as compensation for the cession of Sarawak. This gave an impression that Vyner was trying to sell Sarawak for personal gain – in contrast to the 1941 constitution of Sarawak which stated that Sarawak would head towards self-governance under Brooke's guidance. The constitution was not implemented due to the Japanese occupation. The proposed cession was also criticised by a local Malay newspaper, Utusan Sarawak, as the British had failed to protect Sarawak from Japanese invasion in 1942, only to try to claim Sarawak after the war. In addition, the British would only approve financial loans to rebuild Sarawak upon Sarawak's cession as a crown colony. The British claim on Sarawak was therefore seen as an effort to exploit the natural resources of Sarawak for their own economic interests. On top of this, the British Colonial Office had also tried to combine British Malaya, Straits Settlements, British North Borneo, Brunei, and Sarawak into one administrative unit. From 1870 until 1917, the British had tried to interfere with the internal affairs of Sarawak, but this was met with stiff resistance from Rajah Charles Brooke. The British also tried to interfere with the succession issue of Anthony Brooke in 1940, and had urged Vyner Brooke to sign a 1941 agreement to station a British advisor in Sarawak for fear of Japanese influence in Southeast Asia. The British also became wary that Australia intended to take over the military administration of Sarawak. Consequently, the British government wished to take control of Sarawak before the Australians did.[4]

From 15 to 17 May 1946, the cession bill was debated in the Council Negri (now Sarawak State Legislative Assembly) and was approved with a slim majority of 19 to 16 votes. European officers were generally supportive of the cession, but the Malay officials strongly opposed the cession. About 300 to 400 Malay civil servants resigned from their posts in protest. Questions had been raised about the legality of such voting in Council Negri. Outsiders such as European officers took part in the voting that decided the fate of Sarawak. Several Chinese representatives were threatened with their lives if they did not vote to support the cession.[4] The cession bill was signed on 18 May 1946 by Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke and the British representative, C.W. Dawson, at the Astana, Kuching; the cession of Sarawak as a British Crown Colony became effective on 1 July 1946.[3] On the same day, Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke gave a speech on the benefits for Sarawak as a crown colony:[4]

... Nevertheless I took this decision because I know that it was in the best interests of the people of Sarawak and that in the turmoil of the modern world they would benefit greatly from the experience, strength and wisdom of British Rule.

— reported by The Sarawak Gazette, 2 July 1947, page 118.

The first governor did not arrive until 29 October 1946. Sarawak was a British Crown Colony for 17 years before participating in the formation of Malaysia.[3]

The cession has sparked the nationalism spirit among the Malay intellectuals. They started anti-cession movement with their main centre of operation in Sibu and Kuching. Meanwhile, majority of the Chinese supported the cession because the British would bring more economic benefits to Sarawak. Besides, illegal gambling and opium trade will be banned under British rule which was also beneficial for the economy. The majority of the Iban people respected decision by the Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke as they believe that Rajah acted on the best interests of the Sarawak people. Meanwhile, the Indians in Sarawak also supported the cession as they viewed the British governing principle as satisfactory.[4]

The Malays established the Malay Youth Association (Malay: Persatuan Pemuda Melayu (PSM)) in Sibu and Sarawak Malay National Association (Malay:Persatuan Kebangsaan Melayu Sarawak (PKMS)) in Kuching. Those civil servants who resigned from their government posts established a group called "Group 338" as to symbolise prophet Muhammad that led 338 infantry to victory in the Battle of Badr. Initially they organised talks, hanging posters, signing memorandums, and took part in demonstrations in order to express their dissatisfaction over the cession. Anthony Brooke also tried to oppose the cession but he was banned from entering Sarawak by the British colonial government. The demands and appeals by the Malay community was not heeded by the British. This has caused a more radical organisation to be established in Sibu on 20 August 1948, known as Rukun 13, with Awang Rambli as their leader. In Awang Rambli's opinion:[4]

It is useless that we organise such demonstrations for prolong periods of time while waiting for miracles to happen. We must remember that independence is still in our hands if we decided to sacrifice our lives. There is no other better person to kill other than the governor.

— reported by Syed Hussein Alattas in 1975

Thus, the second governor of Sarawak, Duncan Stewart was stabbed by Rosli Dhobi in Sibu on 3 December 1949. Following this, Rukun 13 was outlawed with four members (including Rosli Dhobi and Awang Rambli) of the organisation hanged to death and the others jailed. This incident increased the British effort to clamp down on the anti-cession movement of Sarawak. All the organisations related to anti-cession were banned and anti-cession documents were seized. Following the incident, Anthony Brooke tried to distance himself from the anti-cession movement for fear of being associated with the plotting to kill the governor of Sarawak. The people of Sarawak were also afraid to lend support to the anti-cession movement for fear of backlash from the British colonial government. This led to the end of anti-cession movement in February 1951. Although the anti-cession movement ended as a failure, Malaysian historians regarded this incident as a starting point of nationalism among the natives in Sarawak. This incident also sent the British a message that the local people of Sarawak should not be taken lightly. The British had described the members of Rukun 13 as traitors but in the eyes of Malaysian historians, the Rukun 13 members are regarded as heroes that fight for the independence of Sarawak.[4]

On 4 February 1951, various anti-cession organisations in Sarawak sent a telegram to the British prime minister on plans on the future of Sarawak. They received a reply from the British prime minister which assured them of the British intentions to guide Sarawak towards self-governance in the Commonwealth of Nations. The people of Sarawak are free to express their views through proper channels according to the constitution, and their opinions will be given full consideration by the British government.[4]

In 1959, in response to a petition written to the Queen, the British government assured that the British government would not desert the responsibility of developing Sarawak until the Sarawak people is able to govern their own country properly.[5]

The number of student enrollment increased steadily every year. In 1957, there were 79,407 students. A total of 70 primary schools were opened in 1957.[10]

Batu Lintang Teacher Training Centre (BLTTC) was opened in 1948 in order to train teachers for rural native vernacular schools. English language training courses were offered to the teachers. A lower secondary school was also attached to BLTTC where the selected students from primary schools were enrolled. Students who successfully graduated from the secondary school was able to train as teacher at BLTTC or join the civil service. In order to raise the adult literacy in the rural areas and to improve the natives' agricultural productivity, Kanowit Rural Improvement School was opened in May 1948. However, due to apathy of the natives towards education, there was only slight improvement of literacy rate from 1947 to 1960. The Rural Improvement School was subsequently closed down in 1957.[11]

Immediately after the war, it was evident that Miri, Bintulu, and Limbang were devastated due to allied bombings during the war. The people of Miri were dependent upon a generator set brought by the Japanese from Jesselton (now Kota Kinabalu). Similarly, the towns of Kapit, Kanowit, and Song were destroyed in anarchy during the last days of war. Sarawak Electricity Supply Company (SESCo) was reinstated after the war; however, it struggled to keep up with the growing demand of electricity in major townships due to lack of spare parts, constant wear and tear, and the lack of proper maintenance of the equipment. SESCo also took over the power plants at Miri from Sarawak Oil Fields Limited. The people from major towns continue to suffer from erratic supply of electricity until 1953 when electrical supply was restored to pre-war capacity. In that year, electrical supply was expanded to five new places in Sarawak. SESCo continued to operate until 1 January 1963, when it was turn into Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation (SESCO).[12]

Malaria was endemic in Sarawak. However, the first proper survey of malaria prevalence in Sarawak was only done from 1952 to 1953. The survey result found that the coastal areas had low malarial prevalence while the hilly and mountainous interior was prevalent with the malarial disease.[13]

Medical services in Sarawak became part of the British Colonial Medical Service. Medical personnel had to be imported from Malayan Union (today known as Peninsular Malaysia).[14][note 1] Sarawak Medical Department was established as a separate entity on 21 July 1947. The department's expenditure was about 10% of the government revenue.[14][note 2] There was a shortage of manpower, including doctors, dressers (also known as hospital assistants), and nurses. By 1959, the staffing position had improved greatly. Divisional medical officers (equivalent to Chief Medical and Health Officers today) were appointed, and more nursing schools and rural dispensaries were opened.[14][note 3] Various projects were started, such as a malaria control project (1953) and a tuberculosis control project (1960). Laws such as the Medical Registration Ordinance (1948), the Dentist Registration Ordinance (1948), the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (1952), and the Public Health Ordinance (1963) were passed.[14][note 4]

In 1947, there were only two government hospitals in Sarawak: Kuching General Hospital (now Sarawak General Hospital) (255 beds) and Sibu Lau King Howe Hospital (now Lau King Howe Hospital Memorial Museum) (55 beds). In Miri, a hospital was built by Sarawak Shell Oilfields Limited. There was an agreement with the government of Brunei to admit patients from Limbang into the Brunei State Hospital. There were regular monthly visits from Brunei Health Services to Limbang.[14][note 5] In 1957, Sarawak Mental Hospital was constructed in Kuching.[14][note 6] In 1952, a government hospital was constructed in Miri.,[14][note 7] followed by Christ Hospital built by American Methodists in Kapit in 1957,[14][note 8] and Limbang Hospital in 1958.[14][note 9] In 1947, there were 21 rural dispensaries attended by a dresser and an attendant.[14][note 10] Kanowit dispensary and Saratok dispensary were opened in 1953[14][note 11] and 1960 respectively.[14][note 12] The total annual workload of these dispensaries were 130,000 patients.[14][note 13] In 1947, the colonial government allocated grant for the setting up of two rural dispensaries and 16 mobile dispensaries. However, due to the difficulty of recruiting the necessary manpower, only two mobile dispensaries were operational at the Rajang River to cater the needs of the rural communities.[14][note 14]

The Japanese occupation had disrupted dental services in Sarawak. In 1949, an Australian dental surgeon was appointed to be in charge of dental services in Sarawak. British Council and Colombo Plan scholarships were set up to produce more dentists for the state.[14][note 15] In the 1950s, dental nurses were recruited. Hospital-based dental services were extended to Sibu and Miri in 1959 and 1960. In 1961, fluoridation of the public water supply in Simanggang (now Sri Aman) was implemented.[14][note 16]