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Claudetown: This historically rich town is now known as what?

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Marudi is a quiet town in Sarawak famous for its kueytiaw noodles.

But did you know this town was once called Claudetown (sometimes spelled as Claude Town) not Marudi?

It was named Claudetown after Claude Champion de Crespigny who was the Resident of Baram district.

Claudetown
Marudi is also famous for its Baram regatta.

Who was Claude Champion de Crespigny?

An initial Google search of Claude Champion de Crespigny will lead you to Wikipedia page describing a British soldier and polo player. (This de Crespigny, however, committed suicide in 1910 at the age of 37.)

Marudi’s de Crespigny was born in 1829 to Reverend Heaton Champion de Crespigny and his wife Caroline.

He joined the Royal Navy in 1844 and became a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain.

de Crespigny was part of the French nobility during the tumultuous period of the French Revolution, which forced many aristocrats to flee France due to the political unrest.

Like many French émigrés who fled revolutionary France, he eventually made his way to Southeast Asia.  On how did this Frenchman found his way to Sarawak, that remains unclear.

Regardless, the second White Rajah Charles Brooke appointed him as the Resident of the Fourth Division (Baram and Trusan) in 1883.

Before that, he was the Resident of the Third Division (Rejang, Oya, Mukah, Matu and Bintulu).

His administration was made up of two junior officers, 30 rangers and a few native police officers.

In 1882, de Crespigny recorded in his diary that there were 18 hand-dug oil wells at the mouth of Miri river.

He found out about this when he noticed that the locals mixed the oil with resin to caulk their boats.

Unfortunately, the Brooke government didn’t put more thought to this observation until de Crespigny’s successor Charles Hose came along.

Due to this, Hose is more widely known as the important figure in discovery of oil in Sarawak.

de Crespigny died on Dec 28, 1884.

Marudi
The town is also home to the famous kueytiaw Marudi.

Claudetown in the 1880s

Looking back into the town history, the first foundation of Claudetown was laid on July 19, 1882.

In 1885, Charles Brooke visited Claudetown and it already had 45 attap shophouses.

The population throughout the whole of Baram area back then was mainly made up of the Kayan, Kenyah, Kelabit, Penan, Berawan, Kiput, Sebop, and Seping.

The first group of Chinese immigrants who arrived in town were the Hokkien.

They came down from Kuching in 1882 to trade.

By 1888, there were 300 Hokkiens and Teochews living in Claudetown.

Then in 1905, a Malay named Dato Sharif Hamid from Simanggang (known today as Sri Aman) introduced rubber planting in the area. Now, there is a primary school SK Dato Sharif Hamid named after him.

From Claudetown to Marudi

So why did Claudetown change its name to Marudi?

According to Miri’s official government website, it was later renamed to Marudi after a small river flowing through the town.

But local historian Chang Pat Foh had a more amusing story behind the name Marudi.

After the discovery of oil in Miri, the administrative centre of the Fourth Division was relocated from Claudetown to Miri.

Miri people back then used to tease those from Claudetown in the Iban language, “Malu dek, Kubu Claudetown udah pindah ngagai Miri.” (How embarassing for you, your fort has been moved to Miri).

Then, slowly people started to call the town “Malu dek” which eventually became Marudi.

Whether is there any truth in this playful story, that will remain a mystery for all of us.

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Charles Hose and his love affair with Sarawak

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Fort Hose Marudi 1
A plaque at Fort Hose marking the date it was opened in Marudi.

Fort Hose in Marudi was named after Charles Hose, the then Resident of Baram.

Born in 1863 in Hertfordshire, he was the son of clergyman Thomas Charles Hose.

As a young man, he continued his study at Cambridge University but never completed his degree.

With the help of his uncle, George Frederick Hose, the bishop of Singapore, Sarawak and Labuan, Hose landed a job in the Sarawak civil service.

The fort – now officially renamed and repurposed as the Baram Regional Museum –  is a significant remnant of the Brooke era in Sarawak which ended about 80 years ago.

Apart from his work as a British administrator, Hose contributed a great deal to Sarawak as a zoologist and ethnologist.

Charles Hose and his love for nature

Hose lived in Sarawak for 24 years and spent his free time researching natural history and ethnography.

He enjoyed exploring the rainforest and became an avid collector of plants and animals.

His collection can be found in the British Museum and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge.

An amateur photographer, Hose also captured photos showcasing people and scenery of Sarawak.

To commemorate his work as a zoologist, several species were named after him including Hose’s frog (Odorrana hosii), Hose’s tree frog (Philautus hosii), Hose’s palm civet (Diplogale hosei) and many more.

Fort Hose Marudi 2
Some of the photographs taken by Charles Hose himself displayed at Baram Regional Museum.

Charles Hose and the birth of Baram Regatta

During the Brooke administration, fights among tribes were rampant in the Baram region.

Hose decided to hold a peace conferenceat his fort in April 1899 which led to the birth of the first Baram Regatta.

The regatta, a longboat competition among the tribes, is still continued to this day. Only now it includes other activities such as cultural performances, beauty pageants and so much more.

After his 18-year service in Marudi, he was promoted to serve the supreme council of Sibu.

There, he also helped in peace negotiations between Iban rebels in 1904 and warring Ibans from the Rajang and Batang Lupar in 1907.

Charles Hose and the Kelabit people

According to former headmaster and author Sagau Batubala, the name Kelabit was a misnomer Hose had given to the people living in the highlands south of Mount Murud.

As Resident, part of his responsibilities included listing down all the races living in Baram.

When a group of villagers paid a courtesy call to the newly appointed Resident in his office at Fort Hose in 1901, Hose asked them where they were from, which leader of the group answered “Pa’ Labid”, the name of their village.

Dutifully, he then asked them what their races were, to which the leader answered “Orang Pa’ Labid.”

Hose was believed to have misheard the word ‘Pa’ Labid’, writing it down in his record book as ‘Kalabit’.

From that moment on, Kalabit became the race name for the ethnic community we now know as Kelabit.

A side view of Fort Hose.
After being razed to the ground, Fort Hose was rebuilt according its original dimensions. The fortress as it stands today.

Charles Hose and the discovery of oil in Miri

Hose is cited by Rasoul Sorkhabi in GEOExpro, a petroleum geoscience magazine, to have played a significant role in the discovery of oil in Miri.

After his appointment as the Resident of Baram, Hose started mapping oil seeps in and around Miri.

He reportedly gave his findings to the Brooke government, but an English consultant geologist said an oil exploration in Sarawak was a no-go because of its poor logistical conditions.

Hose then retired and returned to England where he whosed his map of oil seeps to Charles Brooke.

The late Rajah gave his permission to continue the exploration, so Hose went to discuss the idea with Anglo-Saxon Petroleum, a part of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group.

The meeting was a success and Charles later signed the first Sarawak Oil Mining Lease in 1909.

Eventually due to the rapid oil discovery activity, the Resident’s Office was moved from Marudi to Miri in 1912.

A portrait sketch of Charles Hose. Credit: Public Domain.
A sketch portrait of Charles Hose. Credit: Public Domain.

Charles Hose and his many publications

Hose spent his retirement in Norfolk writing about Sarawak and its people.

Some of his significant publications are ‘The Pagan Tribes of Borneo’ (1912), ‘Natural Man’ (1926), and his memoir ‘Fifty Years of Romance and Research, or, a Jungle-Wallah at Large’ (1927).

He died at the Hutton Nursing Home in 1929.

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Fort Sylvia: 3 things to know about the charming historical building of Kapit

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If you happen to be cruising down Sarawak’s longest river, the Batang Rajang and find yourself in Kapit town, your stay would not be complete without a visit to Fort Sylvia.

Built in 1880, Fort Sylvia is one of the most historical sites in Sarawak. It may be hard to visit if you are a casual tourist as the town of Kapit itself is only accessible by two-hour expressboat ride from Sibu, but you can see the impressive belian fort as soon as you exit the Kapit Passengers Terminal.

It used to be called Kapit Fort or Kubu Kapit until 1925 when it was named after Ranee Sylvia Brooke, wife to the third White Rajah, Charles Vyner Brooke.

Under the Brooke administration, the fort was used as an administrative centre for the Upper Rejang area. Back then, the Sarawak Rangers, a para-military force were also stationed at the fort.

Over the years, the fort also housed the District Office, District Courthouse and later the Resident’s Office in 1973.

In May 1997, the Tun Jugah Foundation was given the responsibility to manage the fort, turning it into a museum.

Fort Sylvia Kapit (11)
Fort Sylvia, Kapit.

Here are 3 things to know about Fort Sylvia:

1. It was where 1924 Peace-making Ceremony took place

History has it that there were conflicts between the Iban and the Orang Ulu during Charles Brooke’s reign due to the Iban migration upriver in the Rajang River basin.

Headhunting was rampant. There were Ibans who openly revolted against the Rajah’s rule prohibiting them to migrate into selected rivers in the area.

Peace was slowly restored after 1919 when Charles Brooke launched an expedition in the area to eliminate these rebels.

Finally in 1924, they held a peace-making ceremony to commemorate the end of the tribal conflicts. A preliminary peace-making ceremony had been held the evening before on Nov 15 at Long Nawang, North Kalimantan, where a group of Kenyahs performed a war dance for the attendees.

The ceremony at Fort Sylvia took place on Nov 16 between the Kayans, Kenyahs and Kajangs of the Apo Kayan and Balui river with the Ibans of Batang Rajang and Batang Ai.

The ceremony started with the killing of one pig and the sprinkling of the pig’s blood. Some of the tribe leaders performed prayers during the ceremony which ended with the presentation of ancient jars and gongs to each of the tribe leaders from Charles Brooke.

Rajah Vyner Brooke gave this jar to Temenggong Koh Jubang as a token of peace during the peace-making ceremony.
Rajah Vyner Brooke gave this jar to Temenggong Koh Jubang as a token of peace during the peace-making ceremony.

Today, there is a small memorial located in front of the fort to mark the event.

It reads: “This Stone is to commemorate the Peace-making Ceremony between the Kayan, Kenyah and Kajang of the Apoh Kayan and the Balui River; and the Iban of Batang Rejang and Batang Ai head-waters, on  16 November 1924.”

A memorial stone to commemorate the 1924 peace-making ceremony.
A memorial to commemorate the 1924 peace-making ceremony.

2. To learn about one of the world’s largest amber deposits

A visit to Fort Sylvia will teach visitors the history about one of Sarawak’s valuable yet underrated natural resources – amber.

One of the world’s largest amber deposits was discovered in the Merit-Pila Coal Field along the Batang Rajang.

Geologists also found the largest piece of amber in the world in this area. Even more surprising is the age of the amber as it is estimated to be approximately 20 million years old.

The colours of amber vary from black to white and sometimes with shades of orange, red, yellow and brown.

Visitors can admire a small collection of amber carvings by local artist Kojan Kabeng from Punan Bah in one of the exhibits at Fort Sylvia.

Amber
Amber carvings by Kojan Kabeng.

3. And of course to learn about Kapit and its rich history

Some of the weaving materials to make pua kumbu displayed.
Some of the weaving materials to make pua kumbu on display.

The museum also depicts the history of Kapit through old photos of its community leaders as well as a selection of Iban costumes and textiles.

One of Tun Jugah Foundation’s objectives is to promote Iban traditional weaving. As such, the fort also displays weaving tools and raw materials for making pua kumbu.

A view of Batang Rajang from the first floor of Fort Sylvia.
A view of Batang Rajang from the first floor of Fort Sylvia.

Visit Tun Jugah Foundation for more information about Fort Sylvia.

Read other articles about forts in Sarawak here:

A visit to Fort Hose, Marudi, Sarawak

Lawatan ke Kubu Hose di Marudi

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5 Sarawakian ghost stories you’ve probably never heard of

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Everybody loves ghost stories, especially when they’re familiar with the places where they allegedly happened.

While Peninsular Malaysia is host to infamous haunted sites like Highland Towers, Karak Highway and Villa Nabila, we have our own share of spooky tales here in the Land of the Hornbills.

Here are some Sarawakian ghost stories that you’ve probably never heard of:

1. A store in Miri where shoes fly

If you are working as a retailer at one of the shopping malls in Miri, you might have heard this story.

It seemed like any other day for the staff of a shoe store as they were opening up shop, until they saw that shoes were scattered all over the place as if they had been thrown about.

The owner understandably turned to the CCTV recording to check what had happened, and to everybody’s surprise, they didn’t find the culprit, instead they saw the shoes fly off the rack all by themselves.

However, the existence and legitimacy of the CCTV recording is continuously the subject of debate in online forums.

2. A haunted hotel in Bintulu

Google-search ‘haunted hotel in Bintulu’ and you’ll find two accounts of the same haunting… which goes to show what happens when you put bloggers in a ghostly situation.

Their experiences have the perfect ingredients for a ghost story – unexplained banging on the window, sobbing sounds, being assigned a haunted room and to show it wasn’t all a dream – scratch marks on their backs.

One of the bloggers also happens to be a comic blogger.

Check out their stories here and here.

3.The tale of Janet and Satok Bridge

This is one of Sarawakian ghost stories perhaps only known among Kuchingites.

The story goes that in the 1960s while Satok bridge was still in its early stages of construction, women were going missing.

According to some myths, human sacrifices – specifically, their heads – are needed to reinforce the pillars of a bridge, and like most human sacrifices around the world, the demand is for young virgins.

Janet, believed to be a young Chinese nurse, fit the bill and when her headless body was found in a culvert, people believed that she had become one of those sacrifices.

Her parents buried her in a red dress and red shoes so that she could return as a spirit and exact her vengeance upon her killers. Just like Megan Fox’s character in Jennifer’s Body (2009), Janet is said to be roaming around Kuching in a red dress, hitching rides from unsuspecting motorcyclists or taking ferry rides across the Sarawak river.

4. The now-demolished wooden house in Krokop

There’s no bloodshed in this story, only an account of people sleeping at an empty haunted house in Krokop on a dare. The next morning they found themselves – and their belongings –  outside the house. So were they sleepwalking or were they moved outside by unseen forces?

Other accounts say that the windows of this house have never been left half-opened or half-closed, but that they’ve only ever been wide open or tightly closed.

The house has since been demolished, leaving this a mystery for the ages.

5. A haunted beach resort in Santubong

If you are Sarawakian, or have been here long enough, you’ll know that there are various accounts of haunted resorts in Santubong.

According to one account, you might be able to see a shadowy figure outside your window even though you are on the 12th floor. This story, however, does raise a few questions as most of the resorts in Santubong are four-storeys high at most.

Additionally, one story goes that you might be able to see a mythical creature scaring the wits out of you from on top of a coconut tree.

5 Sarawakian ghost stories you've probably never heard of
5 Sarawakian ghost stories you’ve probably never heard of

Do you have any Sarawakian ghost stories to share? Tell us your stories in the comment box.

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Fort Alice: 10 things you might not know about this important historical landmark

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Located in Sri Aman, Fort Alice is a building constructed entirely of belian timber overlooking the famous Batang Lupar River.

It was built after the victory of second White Rajah of Sarawak Charles Brooke over Iban warrior and chieftain, Rentap.

The historical building was abandoned for a few years until it was restored and reopened as the Sri Aman Heritage Museum on Apr 18, 2015.

Named after Margaret Alice Lili de Windt, Charles’s wife, the rectangular building is equipped with cannons, open courtyard, drawbridge and lookout tower.

Here are 10 things you might not know about For Alice and its colourful history:

1. The original structure was made from materials of another fort.

It is widely understood that the fort was originally built in 1864. However, most of its structure came from Fort James that was built in 1849 further upriver at Skrang.

In 1864, Fort James was dismantled and a good deal of the materials was transferred to Sri Aman where it was re-erected.

At first, people just referred it as Simanggang Fort, until Ranee Margaret came to Sarawak in 1870 and then it was named Fort Alice after her middle name.

2. The reasons why Fort James was dismantled and Fort Alice was built.

After Fort James was built at Skrang, the Brooke government thought that a town would in time develop around it.

However, they found that the site was unsuitable since it was at lowland and liable to flood.

Hence, they decided to move the fort to Simanggang where it was re-erected on a small hill.

Plus the new location was located next to a river, an important factor for a fort site in the olden days.

Scenic view from the fort overlooking theLupar River
Scenic view from the fort overlooking the Lupar River
3.Ranee Margaret’s unforgettable first visit to Fort Alice.

The late ranee had an unforgettable experience when she first visited Fort Alice. To welcome her, the local Ibans performed the ngajat dance in her honour.

But they used real heads as part of their performance. Margaret reportedly rushed to her room where she fainted and had to be excused for the rest of the evening.

4. James Brooke’s godson was Simanggang’s first resident, stationed at Fort Alice.

Known as Tuan Bongsu (because he was the youngest of Charles’ siblings), Henry Stuart Johnson was the first one to be in charge of Fort Alice from 1864 to 1869.

Then the first White Rajah’s godson James Brooke Cruikshank was appointed as the first Resident of Simanggang in 1869.

According to W.J. Chater in The Sarawak Gazette (January 31, 1965), Cruikshank created a great impression among the Ibans in the area when he was the resident.

After he was transferred to Sibu, many of the locals even tried to take their court cases to him there.

5. Vyner Brooke was first stationed at Fort Alice when he first started working in Sarawak.

Besides that, the fort was also where the third White Rajah Vyner Brooke first served as a cadet government officer.

He was just 17 when he first started working there under Demetrius James Sandford Bailey in 1891.

6. The disastrous Cholera Expedition started at Fort Alice.

Fort Alice was the starting point where the infamous Cholera Expedition happened in June, 1902.

The punitive expedition down the Batang Lupar had one-fifth of the 10,000 recruited men to fight against Iban rebels died of Cholera.

The fort was refurbished in 2015 and turned into a heritage museum
The fort was refurbished in 2015 and turned into a heritage museum
7. The second White Rajah Charles Brooke actually wanted to be buried there.

It is said that Charles had a soft spot for Simanggang and used to send all his best officers there.

Chater wrote, “He directed it personally from 1854 to 1904 when he handed over its affairs to his son who later became the third Rajah. For this reason, there were no First Class Residents in the Second Division during the time of the second Rajah. On his rare visits to Simanggang in later years he loved nothing better than to sit on a bench on the hill near the fort and admire the scenery. ‘This’, he would say, ‘is the real Sarawak.’ He had, also always expressed a wish to be buried there as he died in England during first World War (1917) this which could not be fulfilled.”

8. Famous writer W. Somerset Maugham spent some times in Fort Alice way back in 1921.

Maugham stayed for a few days at Fort Alice in 1921 and it became his muse for some of the scenes in his short stories.

Rumours had it at the fort that those who were mentioned in Maugham’s stories pretended to be angry while those who were not mentioned were jealous.

When Maugham wanted to visit Sarawak for the second time in 1930, however, the Rajah politely declined his request telling him that it would not be convenient.

9. The fort had many functions in the olden days.

In the fort’s early days, the building was used as the officer’s quarters, government offices, courthouse and police station all at the same time.

When new building started to be constructed, these departments started to move out from the fort leaving it empty.

The fort is open to public
Fort Alice
10. There was an old tradition at the fort which is now no longer exists and was forgotten for a time.

When it was still used as a police station and Resident’s quarters, there was an interesting old tradition being practised there.

Every day at 8 pm when the Resident would have his dinner, there would be an evening call. Then, the drawbridge or steps were drawn up for the night.

After the policeman on duty struck up the eight o’clock gong, he would call out in Iban:

“Oh Hai! Oh Hai! Oh Hai!
Jam diatu pukul lapan,
Tangga udah ditarit,
Pintu udah ditambit,
Orang ari ulu,
Orang ari ili, nadai tau niki kubu lagi.”

The English translation is,

“Oh Hai! Oh Hai! Oh Hai!
The time is now 8 o’clock,
The steps have been drawn up,
The door is closed,
People from upriver,
People from downriver,
Are not allowed to come up to the fort anymore.”

It would be interesting that this tradition is continued to today with a loudspeaker announcing this call every 8 pm from the museum.

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John Beville Archer, the last Chief Secretary of Sarawak of Brooke-era

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“As I stood there in the blinding sunlight memories of the Rajahs of Sarawak, of days of festivity, of new awakening, of stirring scenes, flitted through my mind. The timid young gawk of a cadet, who had landed so hopefully thirty-five years ago, who had wandered all over the country and done so many things in so many places and with such a willing heart, had now finished. As the drums rolled and the troops presented arms, I stood there in my disgraceful suit, hiding my battered old sun helmet down my side wondering if I would ever make it. Just as I was leaving my house I had sent a telegram to the Rajah. I said:

‘In a few minutes I shall hand over your State to His Majesty’s representative with full honours and ceremony. I have impressed upon all that the best way of showing their loyalty to you is to support the new government fully and work for the rehabilitation of the State. As your last Officer Administering the Government I wish your Highness and Her Highness the Ranee all happiness in your position.’

This was what John Beville Archer wrote in his autobiography ‘Glimpses of Sarawak between 1912 and 1946’ (1997) which was published posthumously.

In this particular part, he narrated what happened on July 1, 1946 when Sarawak was officially declared as a British crown colony.

The book was compiled and edited by Vernon L. Porritt who is known for his other works such as The Rise and Fall of Communism in Sarawak 1940-1990 and British Colonial Rule in Sarawak, 1946 and 1963.

Archer was born in 1893 and was recruited from the Channel Islands in the Sarawak Administrative Service by the second White Rajah Charles Brooke in 1912.

According to his obituary which was published in the Sarawak Gazette, Archer spent the first eight years of his service, apart from a brief interlude at Sadong (Serian), in the Third Division, mainly in the Coastal District.

“It was during these years that he learnt the Melanau language and formed the strong affection for this people which was noticeable in his later writings. His interest in the Sarawak Gazette, which he retained until the end of his life, dates from 1922 when he was Editor of the Gazette and Manager of the Printing Office in addition to his other duties,” the Sarawak Gazette reported in 1948.

Archer was first promoted to a Resident in 1930 and then the Chief Secretary and Chairman of the Committee of Administration in 1939.

He also contributed many interesting articles for the Sarawak Gazette under the pen name of Optimistic Fiddler or O.F.

John Beville Archer
John Beville Archer in 1927.

John Beville Archer and the 1941 constitution

The 1941 constitution of Sarawak is the first known written constitution during the White Rajahs reign.

The main objective was to approve and fulfill the promise by the third Rajah, Vyner Brooke which was to give self-governance of Sarawak to the locals.

Kenelm Hubert Digby who served as the legal advisor to the government played a major role in the writing of the constitution.

As one read through Digby’s memoir, he pulled no punches in criticising Archer. He accused the senior Brooke officer of having ‘a somewhat feudal outlook’.

Digby stated, “He had joined the service in 1912, at the age of 19, and he had loyally served two Rajahs. He would have preferred to continue under such conditions. He distrusted these new-fangled, democratic ideas, and he had somehow got it into his head that the Committee of Administration was forcing the constitution on the Rajah against the will of the latter. He rather prided himself on his diplomatic skill, and in April and May 1941, he was appearing to co-operate in the deliberations of the Committee of Administration on the one hand, while communicating his private opinions secretly to the Rajah on the other.”

The Committee of Administration was a body that governed the country in the Rajah’s absence.

As for Archer, he did not elaborate much on his opinion about the constitution in his memoir.

He pointed out that the constitution was one of the big events that marked an entire change in the administration of Sarawak.

As a true Brooke loyalist, Archer only expressed that it was the Rajah desired to mark the centenary of Brooke rule by granting a constitution.

In the end, Archer was forced to retire in May 1941 ‘over trying to serve both the Rajah’s and the Committee of Administration’s interests’.

After his retirement, he remained in Sarawak as an Information Officer of Sarawak, the editor of the Sarawak Gazette as well as a Special Policeman.

John Beville Archer as an internee at Batu Lintang Camp

When the Japanese invaded Sarawak, Archer was among those interned by the Japanese.

In his book, Archer did not fail to share his experience as an internee at Batu Lintang Camp.

A talented storyteller; one of the stories he shared is about the pet goat the internees kept at the camp.

“In stories of prisons there are invariably the pets which the prisoners keep out of their scanty fare but the only pet we ever had was a goat. We called it Eustace. Why, I do not know considering it was obviously feminine and later produced a kid. However, although like most goats it could live on the ‘smell of a dirty rag’, there just was not any food to give it so the time came when it was decided that she should go into the cooking pot. This caused quite a stir. Poster artists (we had several) opened a picture campaign. One that touched our hearts was a portrait of Eustace looking sadly at us over the inscription ‘BE KIND AND LET ME LIVE. I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG.’ A petition signed by many influential internees was presented to the committee. A reprieve was allowed but the cooks were not beaten. In a fortnight after several days of extremely lean rations, they opened up a fresh attack. This time all our sob stuff was of no avail – Eustace went into the pot.”

At one point, Archer was taken in for questioning by the Kempeitai for four days.

He was imprisoned and spent most of his mornings being interviewed by the secret police.

Describing his prison, Archer wrote, “It was a row of small semi-dark cells opening on to a backyard. The whole of the front of each cell was barred like a beast’s cage in a menagerie, except that the door was like that of a dog kennel. You had to bend double to get inside, which gave the gaolers a heaven-sent opportunity of kicking you hard on the behind every time you did so.”

Thankfully, he survived his ordeal with the Kempeitai.

John Beville Archer and the hoisting of the flag

Perhaps the most popular photograph of Archer is the image of him hoisting up the Sarawak flag in the civilian compound of the Batu Lintang Camp taken on Sept 12, 1945 after Sarawak was liberated by the Allied Forces.

According to his autobiography, the photo was a photo op.

Hoisting the Sarawak flag 1945 AWM 118393
John Beville Archer hoisting up the Sarawak flag at Batu Lintang Camp. Copyright expired – public domain

“On the 9th we were told by dropped leaflets that unless negotiations broke down the Allied forces would arrive on the 11th. On that morning rumours came in that the Allied sips were at the mouth of the river and that the Japanese Commander had gone down to sign capitulation. The hours dragged on. At three o’clock I went along to the wire at the back of the soldiers’ camp to receive a Sarawak flag which some Chinese friend had promised to bring.

“That evening we procured a long bamboo pole and hoisted the Sarawak flag in our Camp. The next morning the official photographers arrived and I had the honour of hoisting the flag officially.”

After the war ended, Archer was first given a job at the Sarawak Museum office.

He shared in his memoir, “One of my duties was trying to collect what I could of the Rajah’s property. Strangely enough, the Japanese had done no damage to the Astana, and its contents were almost intact but scattered.”

Apart from that, he found the museum ‘lost very little’, the chief secretary’s office ‘became a gaol with a pig-sty outside’, the Anglican Cathedral ‘was a store’, a Catholic School was a Courthouse and the Sarawak Club bowling alley was turned into a shrine.

John Beville Archer and Sarawak cession to the British

On Nov 1, 1945, Archer was appointed the Political Adviser to the British Military Administration in Sarawak.

Few months later in early 1946, Vyner announced his intention to cede Sarawak to Britain.

Looking back at history on how Sarawak was ceded to Britain, the whole process was a practically a mess.

Historian Steven Runciman in his book The White Rajah: A History of Sarawak from 1841 to 1946 opined that the cession ‘had been hurriedly and clumsily handled’.

He added, “It is a story from which few of the principal characters emerge with enhanced credit. Sarawak was to suffer for it.”

The motion was unpopular among the locals who saw the cession as a violation of a provision in the 1941 constitution which stipulated that the Rajah would grant the right of self-rule to Sarawak.

The British government sent two Members of Parliament to Sarawak to enquire whether the people agreed to the cession.

They reportedly found that there was enough support for the cession to be debated in the Council Negri.

John Beville Archer and Cession Debate

Presided by Archer, the meeting took place on May 16 and 17, 1946 with 34 members attended the debate on the second reading and 35 on the third reading.

According to later accounts, there were no speeches translated for the benefit of the 26 non-European members who attended the meeting.

Christopher Dawson who was sent out to Sarawak by the Colonial Officer to supervise the legitimization of the cession said Archer appeared to be drunk during the debate.

Later, many accused him of making no attempt to maintain impartiality as a presiding officer of a legislative body.

Looking back at his official winding up speech, it is understandable where these accusations came from.

“Having heard all the references made to the cession, I hope you all here realise that is not a rich country. There has been talk about war debts and if this question is broached then we have to pay our share of the war. I think we all agree on that point. We cannot get everything free. I am sorry to say that we cannot carry on with our independence in Sarawak. You can look at it from any point you like. We have our revenue here which shows that it is considerably less than it was before the war, and we probably will have even less later, and it is up to us at this moment to come together with the rest of the countries into some sort amalgamation otherwise we are sunk. I want you to remember that we are servants of the Rajah and I am a servant myself. I have been a servant of His Highness the Rakah and also His Highness the Tuan Muda, but there comes a time when we cannot be alone. The Rajah has not done this thing on his own. He has had the best advice and has consulted the highest authority in London, the Secretary of State for the Colonies. There are no snags behind it. We cannot afford to be on own. Ask The Treasurer about it. We have set aside a certain amount of money for agriculture in order to increase our food supply, otherwise we will starve. There seems to be a sort of feeling here, I am sorry, that it is a ramp. The British Government is not bad. I can assure you that we will get a fair and absolutely good deal. I do not know how long I will be here but you will be here anyway. You have got to vote on it. I can see the feeling of the house is rather tense now. Please understand that there is no ramp. There is no idea of suborning about the British Government. I can assure you that. I am not lying about it.”

The final vote of the council was 19 to 16 in favour of cession. A difference of only three votes that changed Sarawak history forever.

When the Rajah left Sarawak for the last time on May 21, 1946, Archer was appointed as the Officer Administering the Government.

With this post, he was entrusted with the job of handing the country over to the British.

On Cession Day July 1, 1946, Archer relinquished all his official posts.

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Vyner (sitting left) signing the Instrument of cession at the Astana with Archer standing at his left hand side.

John Beville Archer, “It has been a labour of love”

Regardless of his view which was clearly unpopular among the anti-cession movement members, no one could deny Archer’s loyalty to Sarawak and especially to the people of this land.

According to his autobiography, one of Archer distinctive characteristic was his ‘debilitating stutter’ when he was speaking in English.

Curiously, he did not stutter at all when speaking in local languages such as Malay and Iban.

In his reply to an Address of Appreciation from the Supreme Council on the occasion of his retirement, Archer said,

“You all know, I think, how sad I feel at leaving a Service of which I was proud to be a member for so long. I was the last European active member of His Highness the late Rajah’s staff, and I served His present Highness throughout the whole of his reign. It may be considered trite, but I can truthfully say that it has been a labour of love…”

On July 17, 1948, Archer’s nephew Owen Wright found him in his bedroom with a gunshot wound on the forehead.

He was pronounced dead a few hours later at Sarawak General Hospital. According to the official inquest, he was suffering from depression as well as alcoholism.

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What you should know about the Dayak shields of Borneo

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While Captain America has his vibranium shield, the Dayak people in Borneo also have their own.

Here are five things you should know about Dayak shields of Borneo:

1.Different tribes call their Dayak shields in different names.

The Kliau, also known as Keliau or Klau, is the more common term for the traditional shield of the Dayak community.

Meanwhile, the Kelabit, Kayan and Kenyah people called it Klebit Bok or Kelavit Bok.

Klebit means shield while bok means hair.

All Dayak shields are typically in a hexagon shape.

2.Some of the illustrations on the Dayak shields meant to protect the owner.

When Norwegian explorer Carl Lumholtz visited the Mahakam, Kalimantan sometimes between 1913 and 1917, he got himself a shield from the locals.

Although he did not mention from which Dayak group the shield belongs, Lumholtz was informed the meaning behind the feature of his shield.

In his book Through Central Borneo (1920), Lumholtz stated, “I acquired a shield which, besides the conventionalised representation of a dog, exhibited a wild-looking picture of an antoh (ghost), a very common feature on Dayak shields. The first idea it suggests to civilised man is that its purpose is to terrify the enemy, but my informant laughed at this suggestion. It represents a good antoh who keeps the owner of the shield in vigorous health.”

3.In the same time, some designs on the Dayak shields meant to frighten the enemy.

Researcher Augustine Anggat in his paper Basic Iban Designs (1989) explained that the preferable design for adorning Iban shields is giant head motifs of tendrils.

“The melancholic, fierce looking face on the shield give a courageous heart to the warrior who uses it during combat and at the same time it will frightened the enemy by the sight of a demonic looking face of such a shield design,” he stated.

4.One of the favourite ornaments of Dayak shields is human hair.

Norwegian explorer Carl Bock was commissioned by the Governor-General of the Netherlands East Indies to travel and report on the interior part of Kalimantan in 1879.

During his visit, he came across many Dayak groups and observed their culture.

On the kliau he wrote, “Among the Trings and one or two other tribes, it is the fashion to adorn the outer side of the shield with tufts of human hair.”

Bock added, “This shield forms a valuable weapon of defence against blows from the mandau, while it is perfectly proof against the poisoned puff-arrows.”

The Dayak Tring was not the only who put human hair on their shields.

According to British zoologist and ethnologist Charles Hose, the Kenyah did theirs as well.

Hose wrote in his book The Pagan Tribes of Borneo (1912), “The shields most prized by the Kenyahs are further decorated with tufts of human hair taken from the heads of slain enemies. It is put on in many rows which roughly frame the large face with locks three or four inches in length on scalp, cheeks, chin and upper lip; and the smaller faces at the ends are similarly surrounded with shorter hair. The hair is attached by forcing the ends of the tufts into narrow slits in the soft wood and securing it with fresh resin.”

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5.How to surpass the Dayak shields

Brooke Low explained in Catalogue of the Brooke Low Collection in Borneo that there is a way to attack even when the enemies are defending themselves using the Dayak shields.

“As everybody in the attacking party is anxious to be foremost in the race for heads, there are sure to be one or two boats so far in advance of the rest as to make it worth the defenders’ while to put them to their mettle. Some convenient spot is selected and a strong defending party placed in ambush among the trees. One or two men are thrown out to stroll upon the shingly bed to lure the enemy to their destruction.”

The moment the bait is sighted, the boats give chase, and as the enemies leap ashore, the men in ambush spring from their covert to their feet and hurl stones to shatter the shields, and engage with spears and swords in what should be a short but desperate conflicts.”

Since the shields are made of wood or bamboo, just throw some heavy stones to break them apart.

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Reflecting on Anthony Abell’s 1959 Chinese New Year Message: A Historical Perspective

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Sir Anthony Abell was a British colonial officer who served as the Governor of Sarawak. He joined the Colonial Administrative Service back in 1929 and was posted to Nigeria. Then in 1950, Abell was offered the governorship of Sarawak where he was concurrently High Commissioner to Brunei.

He was originally appointed for a three-year term only but his term was extended.

In the end, Abell worked in Sarawak from Apr 4, 1950 till Nov 15, 1959.

When the formation of the Malaysian federation was still in discussion, Abell returned to be a member of the Cobbold Commission.

Here is a little random, unknown fact about the former governor; he was not exactly a foodie.

Peter Mooney, the former Crown Counsel of Sarawak once wrote in his autobiography, “The Governor, Sir Anthony Abell, was a bachelor who had spent his previous service in Africa. He had no great interest in food and the lunches and dinners he gave were adequate but undistinguished. Simple Malay food, clearly chosen as well as prepared by the staff, was served at his private lunches and dinners.”

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In 1959, Abell delivered a Chinese New Year Message which was published in The Sarawak Gazette. Here are some key points of his message:

“May I start this New Year message by wishing all of you peace and prosperity and happiness in the year ahead. This year I am spending Chinese New Year in Sibu where I will be visiting many friends of long standing. I would however like to send a special message to all my kind friends in Kuching who in the normal course of events I would today visit in their homes to meet their families on this great Chinese family occasion.”

The tranquility of Sarawak

“This will be the last Chinese New Year I shall spend among you as Governor. The pleasure I always derive from your unvarying hospitality and kindness is therefore on the occasion touched with sadness. You and I have spent nine peaceful and very happy years together during which time Sarawak was made great material progress. These years have been unmarred by any form of strife and our ancient tradition of tranquility and concord have been maintained and I hope strengthened. I am very thankful for this and I know you and all the other people in Sarawak are proud of our record too.

“It is customary to count our blessing at a season of happiness and goodwill like this because they provide the basis of our confidence in the future but it is also wise at the New Year to do little stocktaking as well and see how we can face better the problems of the coming year.”

The Chinese Contribution

“It is true that 1958 was not a year of great commercial prosperity. By comparison with my early years in Sarawak it was rather lean. This is due to circumstances over which we have little control and we can but hope that the prices of our major exports will hereafter improve. You have in the past often experienced similar fluctuations in our fortunes. For you Chinese have been in Sarawak for many generations and have made a very notable contribution to the prosperity we at present enjoy. One of the most outstanding of your characteristics is your resilience and adaptability. You came here as strangers long ago to a land which was very different to your own. You had little more than the clothes you wore.

You could not speak the language of this country, you knew nothing of its customs but your vigour and adaptability quickly made an essential part of the community and showed how best you could contribute to Sarawak’s progress.

It is interesting to recall that as long ago as 1850 the first sago refinery was opened in Kuching by Chinese. In 1878 the Rajah allocated land to certain Chinese merchants so that they could experiment with the cultivation of pepper. You found gold and exploited it in Bau. You brought rubber from Malaya and in very many ways demonstrated the commercial promise of this country.”

Chinese Qualities

“Your genius for taking the long view in trade and politics is equally required today. We cannot rely for always on the old methods of earning our living. But by exercising those great virtues of industry, initiative and perseverance which everybody so particularly admires in the Chinese. I know Sarawak will develop its economy with that vigourous pioneering spirit which has served us all so well in the past. I imagine such ideas and plans are among your New Year’s resolutions and I am sure your initiative and enterprise will be increasingly followed by your countrymen of other races.”

The Present and the Future

“You know well that when you are on to a good thing, you should stick to it and back it for all you are worth. Sarawak offers you security in a peaceful environment. In this country enterprise and opportunity can flourish, assisted and protected by an honest and an efficient administration. aWe live by the rule of law. There is freedom and justice assured for all without regard to class or race or creed. There are some who lag behind others in education of health, in wisdom or in riches and it is in all our interests to give a helping hand to the weak and the backward until a common high standard of living and education has been achieved. In this the Chinese can make the greatest contribution of all and therefore perhaps the greatest sacrifices. There can be no real happiness or harmony in our Sarawak family if there is a wide disparity of wealth or learning. Ignorance and poverty breed dangerous frustrations which can explode in savage retaliation.”

It has been more than 60 years since Abell delivered this Chinese New Year Message. His message to help those who are weak and stay united still resonates with Sarawakians today, don’t you agree?

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Discover Eric Mjöberg’s Curious Animal Descriptions as Sarawak Museum Curator

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In 2004, a former Sarawak Museum curator made controversial headlines across the globe thanks to what he did 90 years earlier.

Eric Mjöberg served two years as a curator for the Sarawak Museum from 1922 until 1924.

Before he found himself in Borneo, he had made various expeditions to Australia during the early 1900s to prove his Darwinian human evolution theory.

A zoologist and ethnographer trying to do his job… how controversial could his work be?

In Western Australia, Mjöberg who started off by collecting plant and animal specimens for research purposes, had also desecrated the sacred burial grounds of the Aboriginal people.

After stealing their human remains, he then passed them off as kangaroo bones and smuggled them back to his home country Sweden.

He did this reportedly over the course of two expeditions between 1910 and 1916, collecting parts from 12 deceased individuals.

After suffering from an extended, undiagnosed illness, Mjöberg passed away in Stockholm in 1938, living in poverty. Throughout this period, he endured recurring nightmares that mirrored his encounters in the Kimberleys. These haunting dreams involved a feeling of being chased by Aboriginal individuals and interactions with the Dreamtime’s creation spirits called the Wondjina.

In September 2004, Lotte Mjöberg, his great-niece, took the initiative to return the skeletons to the Aboriginal people.

Interestingly, Mjöberg actually exposed his own unethical practices through his 1915 publication of his diaries ‘Among Wild Animals and People in Australia’.

Apart from this book, he also published another book Forest Life and Adventures in the Malay Archipelago (1930).

In the book, he wrote mainly brief descriptions of the rich fauna and flora in the region while giving more attention to Borneo.

Although he was described by historians as aggressive, arrogant and devious, his descriptions and observations of nature are interesting and detailed.

We might never see this type of explanation in a formal zoology textbook again, so here are some of examples of Mjoberg’s curious descriptions:

1. Mjöberg called the pangolin ‘stupid and obstinate’.

“Our ant-eater is stupid and obstinate, two attributes no doubt inherited from the dim past. When in danger he rolls himself up into a ball, and no power on earth can induce him to unroll until he wishes, which in other words, is not until all danger is over.”

2.The proboscis monkey is ‘a human caricature in flesh and blood’

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A proboscis monkey spotted at Tarakan’s Bekantan and Mangrove Conservation Park

“Sometimes a man may be as ugly as a monkey, and a monkey may have something very human about it; indeed, it is quite customary to call monkeys humanity’s caricatures. Of none can this be said with such truth of the Borneo proboscis monkey.

“The Malay natives in Sarawak call them ‘orang belanda’ which is a contraction of orang hollanda or hollandare (Dutchmen). Not a great compliment, this, to Queen Wilhelmina’s representatives in the Tropics!”

3.Banded archerfish or squirting fish is one of the shrewdest of fish and ‘the most economical marksman’ in the world.

“One of the shrewdest of fish is the little squirting fish (Toxotes jaculator). The struggle for existence and one’s daily bread is not hard on dry land only, but the under the water as well. It is essential before all else to satisfy the strongest and most primitive of impulses, the desire for food, the first essential of any individual’s existence.

“He is generally seen patrolling in the water along the river banks, carefully inspecting the leaves of the water plants. As soon as he discovers a suitable victim he backs, takes in more copious supply than usual, and with soldierly precision shoots a stream of water at his prey. Taken aback by the sudden cold douche, the insect loses its self-possession, and tumbles down into the water, where he is speedily dispatched by our ingenious little shot. Inspired by his success, he continues this pastime until he has satisfied his appetite.

“Since he only uses water, the squirting fish is undoubtedly the most economical marksman in the world.”

4.The most pugnacious bird in the Malay Archipelago is the Argus pheasant

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“Argus Pheasant” drawn by T. W. Wood for Charles Darwin‘s 1874 book, Descent of Man

“The Argus pheasant is very defiant and suffers from a hot and choleric temperament: an affliction of which the clever Malays take the utmost advantage.

“They plant in his dancing ground some dozens of yard-long pointed bamboo sticks, in such a way that the sharp points stick up a little more than a foot – the height of the dancer’s breast – out of the ground. When he arrives at break of day to give proof to the fair sex of his superabundant vitality, he flies into a towering rage at these unexpected hindrances to love’s measure, and at first makes disdainful attempts to kick away the sticks.

“But this is no easy matter, for they are firmly fixed. His undisguised wrath flares up and he attacks them with tooth and claw. His fury – violent as it is – reaches boiling point, and he slashes round fiercely in every direction, with the final result that he wounds himself mortally on the little stakes planted at fixed distances. There have been birds that in blind frenzy have literally beheaded themselves, or have hung dead with pierced throats, transfixed by the pointed bamboos.”

5.The flying frog inventive for being the only flying expert amongst thousands of his tribe.

739px Wallace frog
Illustration from Wallace’s 1869 The Malay Archipelago by J. G. Keulemans

“There is only one single specimen of earth’s multifarious frogs – wellnigh a thousand in all – that has climbed to heights beyond the commonplace and sails above his four-footed clumsy relatives. This fellow with the black feet goes by the name of Rhacophorus nigropalmatus, and lives on a high, moss-covered height, Mount Dulit in Northeast Borneo.

“When he feels like flying, or is very much disturbed by the neighbourhood of green tree snake, who is too evidently anxious to have him for breakfast, our sticky aviator climbs up the mossy trunk to get a good start and a better view of the country.

“His greatly elongated phalanxes are quite joined by a web for swimming or as might be more correctly said in this special case for flying.

“When the psychological moment arrives, he fills his lungs with air to their utmost capacity and takes the daring leap, drawing his feet aside so that the wide flying-webs become one with his body, and this begins his flight in long bold curves, taking intelligent advantage of any local puffs of wind. The whole proceeding is so grateful as to fill us with amazement that an awkward frog can manage anything of the kind.”

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Explore the Intriguing History of Nissa Shokai: Former Japanese rubber estate in Samarahan and uncover espionage allegations

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In the contemporary business landscape, welcoming foreign companies to invest in and establish their presence in our country has become a commonplace occurrence. The allure of international investment has evolved into a standard practice, shaping the dynamics of our economic landscape.

However a century ago, it was something rare.

Here in Sarawak, the only Japanese trading firm that successfully broke through our local market was a company called Nissa Shokai.

According to a paper by The International Journal of East Asian Study, Japanese immigrants first arrived in Kuching in the latter part of the 1880s.

In the early days, many came voluntarily, seeking out new opportunities as they worked as petty traders and street hawkers among other professions. The more notables include Japanese professionals like Dr. Nakagawa, a dentist in Kuching whose daughters, the ‘Iwanaga sisters’ were teachers at Kuching’s St. Mary’s School.

The paper stated, “Later arrivals during the early 1900s engaged in smallholdings, para rubber cultivation and market gardening on the eastern infringes of the town. Other worked as physicians, dentists, photographers and prostitutes in the bazaar.

“Nissa Shokai, a trading firm specialising in Japanese goods, was established at the turn of the century, to cater for the needs of the then small Japanese community in Kuching and its outskirts. This firm was affiliated to a Japanese-owned Para rubber plantation in Samarahan. On this Samarahan estate, attempts were made to grow pineapples and other tropical cash crops. There were ambitious attempts to establish a Japanese rice-farming community during the late 1920s. However, the wet-rice cultivation undertaken by a small group of Japanese farming families on the Nissa Shokai property in the Upper Samarahan did not go beyond the experimental stage.”

While it was good to have foreign companies investing in the local market, apparently there were some drawbacks. In some cases, it was like bringing in a Trojan horse.

Here are five things you might not know about Nissa Shokai:

1.At one point, Nissa Shokai housed the largest concentration of Japanese in Sarawak during the Brooke-era.

Former Sarawak Attorney-General Kenelm Hubert Digby wrote briefly about Nissa Shokai in his 1980 memoir Lawyer in the Wilderness.

According to Digby, the largest concentration of Japanese in Sarawak was to be found on the Nissa Shokai estate on the banks of the Samarahan river.

Explaining further about the estate, he wrote, “This consisted of about twelve persons holding executive posts, including a resident doctor. There were also, I think a few foremen. There were a handful of wives and children. The labour employed were mostly Malay and Chinese. The estate included one hundred acres of wet paddy and a large area of pineapples but the greater part of the land was under rubber. It had its own Chinese bazaar and its own police station, kindly garrisoned by the Government with one lance-corporal and four constables presumably to keep the labourers in order.”

2.The company successfully established a good relationship with the reigning Rajah at that time.

For Nissa Shokai to be able to have all that in Sarawak was greatly contributed to their relationship with the then government run by the White Rajah.

Ooi Keat Gin in his book The Japanese Occupation of Borneo, 1941-1945 wrote, “Nissa Shokai cleverly curried favour with Rajah Vyner Brooke of Sarawak, including arrangement for his visit to Japan (1928) following discussions in London (1926) about Sarawak’s mineral resources (oil, coal, etc) during the second half of the 1920s.”

These discussions turned out successful as the Japanese company was able to secure concession for prospecting coal at the Pila and Pelagus rivers in the Upper Rejang area as well as at Sama, Murit and Pegau rivers.

It wasn’t until 1936 or 1937 that the British Colonial Office in London took notice the increased interest of Japanese in Sarawak that they immediately moved to halt ‘any concession which afforded the Japanese a pretext for penetration into Sarawak as eminently undesirable from the defence point of view’.

3.The boycott against Nissa Shokai products

Boycotting products based on its origin due to war is not something new.

When the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, the local Chinese in Sarawak boycotted agricultural produce from Nissa Shokai.

There were also some cases of sabotage against the Japanese reported such as cutting off the telephone line to the Nissa Shokai estate.

The Brooke government tried their best to kill the boycott of Japanese goods out of that spirit of comradeship but all of their attempts were unsuccessful.

4.Some of the employees of Nissa Shokai were believed to be spies.

According to Ooi, in Sarawak there was an espionage network known as Yorioka Kikan named after Yorioka Shoza, the founder-proprietor of Nissa Shokai.

Ooi pointed out in his book, “Allied sources reported that the company’s manager in Sarawak and its agent in Kuching as well as employee, Kurasaki, Mori and Matsui Tomisaku respectively were all active in this espionage network.”

Digby in his memoir also shared how he found out that one of the Nissa Shokai employees turned out to be a Japanese army.

“I could not withhold my admiration from one of the Nissa Shokai executive officials, who visited Serian for a court case, and rejecting my offer of hospitality, insisted on staying in the thoroughly hostile Chinese bazaar. The next time I saw that man was on Dec 24th, 1941, the day on which the Japanese occupied Kuching. He was then in the uniform of an officer of the Japanese army.”

Japanese paratroopers heading to Borneo 1941
Paratroopers of the 2nd Yokosuka Naval Landing Force under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Genzo Watanabe (standing on top in the left) inside a transport ship before the invasion of Borneo. Copyright: Public Domain.

If there was an espionage network in Sarawak way before the war began, how much information did these spies obtain?

Apparently according to John Beville Archer in his memoir Glimpses of Sarawak between 1912 and 1946, they knew ‘a lot’.

“When I was passing through Singapore on my way back from furlough in 1939, I visited a Japanese house down the East Coast road to sup off that splendid Japanese dish know as sukiyaki. We were party of four and whilst we squatted on the floor watching the girls prepare and cook it we got talking. They spoke some Malay and some English. We asked them their names and asked them to guess our professions. Well, blast my buttons, if those girls didn’t know not only our names but our jobs and where we lived! Not much of a story but just an inkling as to what a far-reaching spy system they must have had. Again, a few days after I was captured I was called before one of the local Japanese residents who had obviously stepped into some official position at once. He called for my dossier and I could not help noticing that it was a pretty fat document already. This was confirmed when he read out extracts from it. My personal and domestic life was apparently no secret to the Japanese; I was amazed at the lot they knew about me.”

5.There are records of former Nissa Shokai employees that had assimilated into the Sarawak community.

Like many migrant workers in the present day who found love and home in their new countries where they worked, there is no surprise to find out that some Nissa Shokai employees also found the same thing in Sarawak back in the early 20th century.

In 2021, The International Journal of East Asian Studies published a paper on Japanese immigrants in Sarawak before World War II who assimilated through inter-ethnic marriages. The purpose of this paper was to posit that cemeteries involving Japanese immigrants should be promoted as tourist destinations as they reflect Sarawak’s rich multicultural heritage and history of assimilation with foreigners.

One example from the paper which was written by Md Nasruddin Md Akhir, Geetha Govindasamy and Rohayati Paidi, was the case of Seiji Kuno.

The paper stated, “Seiji Kuno, a Japanese national was believed to have arrived in Sarawak 1909 or 1910. He was reportedly a former employee of Nissa Shokai. Seiji Kuno who was known by several names – Mohd Towfek or Mohamed Towpik Kuno or Mohd Jepun, owned a shop in India Street in Kuching. Reportedly, he was an acupuncturist and herbalist. Kuno married Ejah binti Haji Rais when she was 18 years old on 12 June 1917 and had 7 children. Prior to his marriage, Kuno had already converted to Islam. Having immersed himself with the local community, he eventually became the Tua Kampung of Seniawan, located in Samarahan, for about 17 years.”

Kuno had assimilated so completely that he was seen as a defender of Islam and the local community during the Japanese occupation period.

“Prior to the war, Kuno taught religious classes in Samarahan. He even assisted the Malays by obtaining support from the Japanese authorities to fund certain activities in the mosque. Eventually the authorities began providing $900 annually for wages, grass cutting, feasting on important occasions like that of the birthday of prophet Mohammad as well as supporting expenses for entertainment during the fasting month.”

So if there is DNA ancestry test to be done, don’t be surprised to see some Sarawakians today with Japanese heritage.

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