If the Tsardom of Russia had their The Winter Palace and the Chinese emperors had their Forbidden City, we Sarawakians have what we call The Astana. Once called Government House, it is now the official residence of the Governor of Sarawak. It was built in 1870 by the second White Rajah Charles Brooke as a […]
Many Sarawakians today might not be familiar with Brooketon but about a century ago, it was a mining settlement that was once under the Sarawak government. What made this settlement special was that it was located in Brunei, not in Sarawak. During the reign of second White Rajah of Sarawak Charles Brooke, Brooketon was considered […]
When the Malayan Peninsula and subsequently Singapore were captured during World War II (WWII), it was considered among the Japanese Army’s greatest wartime achievements. Meanwhile, it was the worst Far Eastern defeats for Great Britain. During WWII, Singapore was British military base in Southeast Asia. Also known as the Fall of Singapore, the battle lasted […]
Borneo in the 21st century is heaven for all adventurers out there. Here you can find a piece of everything, be it a sandy beach or chilly mountain, exotic animals or unique culture; we have it all. Plus, the people of Borneo are known for their friendliness and generally being good hosts. It is a […]
Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “Victory belongs to the most persevering”. This is not necessarily works every time especially when comes to Japanese holdouts. In Japanese, they called them ‘Zanryu nipponhei’ or the remaining Japanese soldier. They were the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II (WWII) who continued […]
Inspired by James Brooke’s success in founding the kingdom of Sarawak in 1841, another British adventurer James Erskine Murray wanted to establish his own fiefdom too. While Murray might share the same first name and nationality with Brooke, he did not share the same fate with first White Rajah of Sarawak. In his pursue to […]
James Brooke might be widely known as the first ‘White Rajah’ of Sarawak. However, did you know that he was not the first man to be known as the first ‘White Rajah’ in Borneo? About 30 years before Brooke established his dynasty in Sarawak, British merchant and adventurer Alexander Hare founded an independent fiefdom in […]
Unit 731’s official name was ‘Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department of the Kwantung Army’ but their actual work had nothing to do with safeguarding health and security. This biological and chemical warfare research development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army actually started epidemics and polluted rivers with human remains. Based at the Pingfang district […]
If you are not familiar with the term ‘haruspex’, it is a term to describe one who is trained to practice a form of divination called ‘haruspicy’. In ancient Rome, haruspicy involved the inspection of the entrails of sacrificed animals, especially the livers of sacrificed sheep and poultry, to divine omens and communicate with the […]
The Geneva Conventions are four treaties and three additional protocols which establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. Basically, the treaties define the basic rights of wartime prisoners for both civilians and military personnel. In other words, just because you have conquered a country, it doesn’t mean that you can do whatever you […]
