Browse Tag

Sarawak - Page 12

Efforts to rehabilitate TNKU rebels after the Limbang rebellion 1962

Published on

On Dec 9, 1962, as the Brunei Revolt took place, the North Kalimantan National Army (Tentera Nasional Kalimantan Utara, TNKU) seized the town of Limbang.

After attacking the police station, they captured several rifles and machine guns.

They even held the British resident and his wife as hostage along with 12 others.

On the morning of Dec 12, the British Royal Marine commandos were tasked to rescue the hostages.

In the end, five marines were killed and many more rebels were captured.

So what happened to the TNKU rebels after they were caught? These rebels were local Sarawakians who then believed they were fighting for a good cause.

They wanted to fight for the North Borneo Federation also known as North Kalimantan or Negara Kesatuan Kalimantan Utara (Unitary State of North Kalimantan). The proposed entity would have comprised the then British Colonies of Sarawak, British North Borneo and Brunei.

Life in detention

According to Liang Kim Bang, the Limbang district officer at that time there were 204 convictions following the rebellion.

The TNKU rebels were charged under section 6 of the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance, 1962.

Liang stated, “Most of the TNKU prisoners were sentenced to periods ranging from one to five years but one lone man, a staunch rebel leader, Salleh Sambas, after much chase and hide-and-seek was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment.”

Some of the prisoners had been taken to prisons in Kuching, Miri or Sibu while the remainders at Limbang Prison and Detention Camp had all been released on parole.

At that time, the rest of Sarawak believed Limbang was a bloody place where rebels and criminals roamed far and wide.

However, Liang clarified, “This is not at all the picture. Just sink into the oblivion of the December Rebellion. Limbang is as peaceful and sober as any district in the country. Most of the rebels are Kedayans but not all Kedayans are rebels.”

Making room for the TNKU rebels

Due to the high number of prisoners, the Limbang prison had to make some arrangement.

The district officer explained in his report, “The prison proper which has accommodation for only sixteen prisoners managed to accommodate more than 100 detainees and prisoners. This has been made feasible by converting two paddy godown into a detention camp where all the detainees and some of the prisoners were kept.”

Nonetheless, the paddy godowns were not as ‘uninhabitable as might have thought at first though by no means a healthy place to stay in for too long’.

As for the prison staff, there were 19 wardens with only three working as permanent staff and the rest paid daily.

Commenting on the prison staff, Liang pointed out, “The relationship between warders and prisoners/ detainees is good and it was with pleasure to report that no prisoner escaped or attempted to escape during the year. Medical facilities were readily available to them in the nearby hospital, the divisional medical officer or his representative and the Board of Visitors visited the prison regularly.”

Overall, the prisoners reportedly looked healthy.

Rehabilitating the former TNKU rebels

Liang also reported on the rehabilitation of the rebels which was geared to assist the rebel families and dependents since the men had either been taken in or killed during the rebellion.

“A substantial amount of work involved in rehabilitation is undertaken by prisoners who were transported daily to work in the various paddy schemes along 4 1/2th, 7th, 8th, and 9th mile Pandaruan Road which roughly coincides with the stronghold of the rebellion.

“Monthly ration is issued and from May, 1963 to the end of the year Government has spent $27,334.56 on them. Besides providing the rebel dependents with rations, 47 of their houses and 24 durong (paddy stores) were repaired with attap. This was made possible with $500 cash contribution from the Prisoner’s Aid Society and assistance from the District Office.”

Moreover, the children whose fathers were either imprisoned or killed during the rebellion, were exempted from paying their school fees for the first half of 1963.

Helping the wives of the TNKU rebels

Meanwhile, the government also provided classes four times weekly for some 30 wives or daughters of the TNKU rebels. They learned some of the life skills including cooking, needlework, gardening and child welfare.

Liang added in his report, “Besides the assistance so far outlined which is mainly of an educational, social or relief nature, concrete assistance in the form of paddy schemes. Labour for these paddy schemes is provided by the prisoners released on parole, planting know-how and supervision was given by the Department of Agriculture and the administration in general was left to the district office. Under these schemes sixty acres of paddy were planted and these were allocated to 102 rebel families.”

According to Liang, rehabilitation of these rebel dependants was a sensitive and many-sided task that had to be handled with the greatest care and prudence to prevent from being misunderstood, misjudged or misconstrued as something else.

The Limbang Rebellion left many families without their breadwinners.

Some of the women reportedly ‘either spent their time picking pebbles at the 4th mile Pandaruan Road to sell to the local constructor or the Public Works Department for constructional works, or coming to the District Office for more rations or the more loving spent a considerable part of their time visiting their husbands in prison or detention camp.’

The rebellion was also a proof that not all marriages survived for better and for worse, as some of the wives of the TNKU rebels divorced their husbands on the ground of mental cruelty through long absence.

The plea of the Kedayans

Why did the Kedayan join the TNKU rebels? The former Sarawak Museum Curator Tom Harrisson had his explanation for this.

Other than Limbang, the Kedayans in Niah and Bekenu also supported the Brunei Revolt which opposing the inclusion of Brunei in the Malaysian federation.

Harrisson explained that the Kedayans got completely confused and misled.

 “The Kedayans have played a major role in this. There are only about less than 10,000 of them in Sarawak but they have not been taken into account. There are practically no responsible Kedayans in any positions.

They are not represented adequately in government and this applies equally to many other group in the north.”

He then gave an example of how large groups of Sarawak back then were given attention not only in administration but over the radio where only they had programmes in their language.

“They (The Kedayans) are guilty all the same, no one is denying that, but there is a lesson that the same sort of thing can happen widely and I do not think the argument is sufficient that this group is small one, therefore we can ignore it.”

If some of the minority races in Sarawak are continuously being ignored, is there possible that there will be another rebellion in the future? We might never know.

Photos from the Memorial service and the unveiling of plague at Limbang on Aug 3, 1963 to honour those who died during the Limbang rebellion. All photos are under © Commando Veterans Archive 2006 – 2016 licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

His Excellency 001 copy TNKU rebels
Photo courtesy of Estelle Hart who adds ” Unveiling performed by His Excellency, the Governer of Sarawak, Sir Alexander Waddell KCMG, DSC, who laid a wreath.
L Coy 42s Lt P S Waters Limbang 001
The Guard of Honour provided by ‘L’ Company 42 Commando under Lt. P.S. Waters R.M.(soapy) who was wounded in the Assault on Limbang. Photo courtesy of Estelle Hart, sister of Marine Gerald ‘Scouse’ Kierans, killed in action at Limbang
Memorial service Limbang 3 August 63 001
Photo courtesy of Estelle Hart who adds ” Unveiling performed by His Excellency, the Governer of Sarawak, Sir Alexander Waddell KCMG, DSC. Wreaths also laid by General W.C. Walker CBE, DSO, Director of Operations, Brigadier F.C. Barton, OBE, Commander 3rd Commando Brigade, RM”

You might be interested in

10 things you might not know about Japanese hell ships during WWII

Published on

When we look at how Prisoners-of-War (POWs) suffered in internment camps or death marches during World War II (WWII), little do most people know about the atrocities onboard Japanese hell ships.

‘Hell ship’ describes a ship with extremely inhumane living conditions or with reputation for cruelty among the crew.

The term was coined during the American Revolution when the British were shipping American prisoners of war. While the term was also used for German POWs transports, ‘hell ship’ now generally refers to the ships used by the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army to transport Allied POWs and romushas during WWII.

Romusha is a Japanese word for labourer. During WWII, it is a term to refer Asian (mainly Indonesians) forced slave labourers.

The Japanese began transferring POWs by sea in May 1942. On board these ships, there was no escape for these prisoners.

Hell Ship plaque
Plaque dedicated to the survivors of the P.O.W. Hell Ship Shinyo Maru, sunk by USS Paddle (SS-263) on 7 September 1944. Credit: Public Domain.

Here are ten things you should know about about Japanese hell ships during WWII:

1.Some survivors said Japanese hell ships were worse than the death marches

In 2012, American film producer Jan Thompson created a film documentary on the Japanese hell ships and POWs camps titled ‘Never the Same’.

She was inspired by her own father, who was one of the war veterans who survived the hell ships.

Thompson told Chicago Tribune in 2013, “Men who were on the Bataan Death March said the hell ships were worse and it’s a story that nobody knows.”

The Bataan Death March saw the transfer of 60,000-80,000 American and Filipino POWs from Bataan to Capas in the Philippines. The estimated casualties during the march range from 5,650 to 18,000 of POW deaths.

Thompson estimated 14,000 Allied POWs died on the Japanese hell ships. They either froze or starved to death. There was so little food that Thompson’s father resorted to eating undigested oats in horse manure in the ship’s hold.

Others suffocated when they were crammed in spaces that reached 120 degrees.

2.Not all Japanese hell ships were hellish

Not all POW-carrying Japanese ships were left under these cruel conditions. They may not have been five-star cruise ships either but they were somehow bearable.

One of them was Nagara Maru. On Aug 11, 1942, 179 American POWs departed Manila heading for Formosa (Taiwan).

The short voyage to Taiwan aboard Nagara Maru could not be strictly termed a hell ship voyage.

It was reported that the POWs were well-treated, well-fed and did not live in over-crowded conditions. Aboard the ship, there were two generals. They were given the same food as the Japanese officers. They slept on comfortable mats, had access to a clean bathroom and were allowed on deck at anytime.

The colonels and other POWs, however, found their stay aboard less satisfactory. There were 14 men forced to sleep toe-to-toe in each of the 13 foot deep berths.

Their meals consisted of rice with small pieces of fish, picked vegetables or fruits and seaweed.

Water and hot tea were provided. As for sanitation, there was a tub provided as well as access to deck and toilets.

Pacific Maru was another ‘bearable’ Japanese hell ship. On Dec 28, 1942, about 72 (perhaps 85) POWs were taken to Tanjung Priok, Java to Singapore.

According to witnesses aboard the ship, the journey was probably one of more bearable hell ship voyages, partly because there was a small number of POWs aboard and the short duration of three day journey.

3.Why many Japanese hell ships were sunk and bombed by Allied forces

Overall, more than 20,000 Allied POWs are estimated to have died at sea when the transport ships carrying them were attacked by Allied submarines and aircraft.

The Japanese could have identified the merchant vessels they used for prisoner transport by painting or putting a white cross on the ship, but they refused — violating the terms protecting POWs under the Geneva Convention.

They reportedly used transports bearing these Red Cross markings for their weapons while the ships carrying POWS were unmarked.

Due to this, the Japanese transports were often targeted by American carriers and submarines.

Nonetheless, it was believed that the Allied forces knew that some of these ships were carrying POWs after cracking shipping codes relayed among the Japanese.

So why did they bomb POW ships?

According to Greg Michno in Death on the Hellships, they opted to attack POW transport because to leave them untouched while sinking other Japanese shipping would have indicated to the Japanese that their codes had been compromised.

4.Even if POWs survived the sinking, many were not rescued

Many have said that the true character of a person is revealed in the time of crisis. What is the bigger crisis other than a sinking ship?

There were different accounts from survivors of how these POWs dealt with the situation when they were drifted in the ocean waiting for rescue.

In the case of Tamahoko Maru, the sinking showed the best of humankind.

The survivors’ report stated, “Finding themselves in the water, most prisoners managed to gain these rafts or other wreckage and settled down with the Japanese survivors to wait for dawn, all nationalities helping each other.”

However, this beautiful moment did not last long as Japanese vessels returned only to pick up the Japanese, leaving the prisoners on the wreckage.

5.Some were rescued by the same vessels which sunk them

SS Rakuyo Maru was transporting 1,317 Australian and British POWs from Singapore to Formosa in Sept 1944. Another ship in the convoy was SS Kachidoki Maru with another 950 on board.

On Sept 12, the convoy was attacked in the Luzon Strait by three US submarines.

Both Japanese vessels were torpedoed and sunk, killing around 1,159 POWs. As some of the POW survivors tried to row their way towards land in lifeboats the next day, they were bombarded by a Japanese navy vessel.

On Sept 15, the three US submarines returned and rescued 149 surviving POWs who were on rafts. Four more died before they could make it on land.

One of SS Rakuyo Maru’s survivors Roydon Charles Cornford wrote his account of survival in 1982.

The survivors saw a lot of dead POWs floating around. They took life jackets off the dead Japanese and busted them open to use the kapok to wipe the oil out of their eyes and off their faces.

At one point, it started to rain with all of the prisoners looking up to the sky with open mouths to catch any water they could.

While drifting in the sea not knowing what happened to him, Cornford shared, “We never once talked about not surviving.”

When he was rescued, Cornford pleaded his rescuers not to grab his arms because they were just blisters and sores.

6.There were mixed reactions on board on these bombings.

So how did the POWs felt seeing their own countrymen bombing their ships?

Kelly E. Crager in Hell under the Rising Sun recorded the reactions of POWs aboard Dai Moji Maru when their ship was torpedoed by the US.

“The bombing raid was quite literally a near-death experience for the POWs, and they responded in different ways. Some expressed elation that the Americans were disrupting Japanese shipping at this stage of the war and in this part of the world.

“They reasoned that if the Americans were capable of this kind of action, the war would soon be over. Houston sailor Seldon Reese cheered the American bombers, shouting from the hold: ‘Hit the son-of-bitch! Sink the bastard! Others received a morale boost from the American bombing, although they admitted that they hoped their ship would emerge unscathed.

Lester Rasbury had mixed emotions about the bombing: ‘I was kind of hoping to take up for myself, if I could. But we were glad to see it, and we weren’t, either. We at least knew (the US Army Air Forces) were still doing something.’

Kelly Bob Bramlett described his reaction: ‘Well, you hate to get it from your own people, but you’re glad to see them out, too, you know’.

To Johnny Buck, the reaction was simple: ‘I guess I was partial toward the Americans, but I wasn’t caring about them hitting us’.

Wade Webb spoke for many others: ‘I guess I had to pull for the Japs, because I wanted to stay afloat. You know you can’t straddle the fence, so I had to go with the Japs on this one.’”

Oryoku Maru aerial attack
Oryoku burning after attack on 15 December 1944 about 11 AM. Photo by a Hellcat from USS Hornet shows POWs swimming in the water. Public Domaim

7.One Japanese hell ship executed all of its POWs (including throwing babies overboard alive)

While these POWs were alive to tell their tales, not all were lucky enough like them. One of the most gruesome scenes of WWII took places in one of these Japanese hell ships.

Akikaze was a Japanese destroyer and performed patrol as well as convoy escort duties during WWII.

After departing Rabaul, the Akikaze moved to Wewak from Mar 8, 1943 to deliver medicine and supplies, then to nearby Kairuru Island.

On Mar 15, 1943, Catholic missionaries including Bishop Joseph Loerks, six priests, 14 brothers, 18 nuns and one Chinese woman with her two infants were loaded onto Akikaze.

At first, the passengers were treated with dignity, even given a rear cabin and tea, water and bread. Their sea sickness were even treated by the ship’s doctor.

The destroyer proceeded northward and anchored off Lorengau on Manus Island overnight.

Then on Mar 17, 1943 twenty more civilians were brought aboard from Manus. The POWs included German missionaries, one Hungarian missionary and Chinese civilians including six woman. Now there were a total of sixty prisoners aboard the ship.

The apparent intention was to carry them to internment in Rabaul.

However, it was reported, “between Manus and Rabaul each of the adults was strung up by the hands on a gallows in the stern of the vessel, shot dead by rifle or machine-gun fire, and thrown overboard. The two Chinese infants and the European baby were thrown over alive.”

8.Journeying on these ships weaken the POWs

Even if these POWs were safely arrived at their destinations, their hellish experiences did not end on hell ships.

Suffering from diseases and malnutrition, these POWs continued to suffer even when they arrived at the POWs camps.

On Nov 6, 1943, 1230 Dutch POWs departed Singapore for Japan aboard Hawaii Maru.

They were provided with little amount of food consisted of a rice porridge and vegetable of food.

On Nov 27, their convoy was attacked near northern Taiwan. Another large transport (Hakone Maru) was sinking and an escort vessel (Tomodzuru) had been damaged.

The Hawaii Maru stopped up to rescue about 900 survivors, cramping the already crowded ship.

According to reports, Hawaii Maru arrived Moji, Japan on Dec 3, 1943. The prisoners were then moved to camps in Fukuoka, Kokura, Moji and Miyata. Some were sent to Shimonoski and Osaka.

At first, all POWs appeared to survive the journey to Japan. However, six died in the first two weeks after their arrival due to the deprivations of the journey.

Death records of camps in Fukuoka and Osaka showed there were slower effects of these voyages. The victims of hell ships that arrived in Japan typically died within 1 to 2 months due to diarrhea and malnutrition. At least another 70 passengers of Hawaii Maru died of pneumonia in the following months.

While it is impossible to tell if these deaths were caused by their journey, the high death rates among the passengers suggest that the month-long journey aboard Hawaii Maru left many men so weak that they were easily infected by diseases.

9.Those who were found guilty of war crimes because of what happened on board Japanese hell ships

Not all who were responsible of the deaths of POWS on board of these hell ships were convicted of war crimes after the war ended.

Well, it was hard to convict them as some of these Japanese armies gone down together with the sunken ships.

However, justice was served in some cases. The Tofuku Maru was transporting 1200 POWs and 600 Japanese Army troops between Singapore and Moji, Japan.

The voyage took place between Oct 27 and Nov 27, 1942. Altogether 27 POWs died during the journey, another 130 were carried off the ship on stretchers. As many as 100 died later.

Ship’s Master Shiro Otsu and Sergeant Major Eiji Yoshinari were tried for war crimes that led to deaths of the prisoners on the voyage during a Singapore War Crimes trial.

It was found that the POWs, who was a mix of American, Dutch, British and Australian were crammed into two holding areas with an average of 5 men per 6 square foot.

To make matter worse, there not enough toiletry facilities and foods for the prisoners.

On June 11, 1947, Otsu was found guilty while Yoshinari was acquitted.

10.Should these Japanese hell ships be raised from their seabed graves?

The Japanese hell ships that were sunk are still lying in the ocean bed. Now, some people opined that they should be raised.

One of them is Chinese fimmaker, Fang Li who wanted to raise Lisbon Maru that was sunk in 1942.

On her final voyage, she was transporting 1816 POWs between Hong Kong and Japan when torpedoed on Oct 1, 1942.

When the ship started to sink, the POWs tried to save their own lives.

Survivors reported that the Japanese guards first fired on the POWs who reached the deck and that other Japanese ships used machine guns to fire POWs who were in the water.

Some of the victims’ families agreed with the idea. However, one of the survivors of Lisbon Maru disagreed.

Dennis Morley, who thought to be the last survivor alive in Britain told BBC in 2018, “Oh God, how many hundred went under? Could be 1,000 odd. I don’t know. It’s no good getting them out. They’re all dead. They are probably bleached bones now. It’s wartime and a lot of horrible things happened during the war. They’re in peace. Leave them in peace. It is a war grave and should be left as a war grave.”

As for Fang Li, he had his own argument for wanting to raise Lisbon Maru as he considered it to be a jail.

He argued, “All those boys were detained there against their will, that’s why I feel so sad today- they are still detained on the sea floor. In my personal opinion they are on the Chinese sea floor in a Japanese jail. Shouldn’t we free them and send them home?”

You might be interested in

The Melanau Oya legend of Bunga Lawan and the wicked antu sababu

Published on

Here is the Melanau version of a changeling; the legend of Bunga Lawan and the wicked antu sababu.

relationship 2747387 1280
Long time ago, there was a nobleman who lived happily with his wife.

Once upon a time, there lived in Oya a Melanau nobleman with his lovely wife and his sister. This man was Bunga Lawan, the “Flower of Strength of Melanau Warriors”.

His wife was Dayang Tri-Ikat-ku Bunga and his sister was Dayang Salalan.

When Dayang Tri came with child, she told her husband that she would like to eat buah pangai, a fruit that tastes sour when it is eaten unripe but is still a favourite among Melanau women.

The tree that bore buah pangai fruit was on the opposite bank of the river, so Bunga Lawan asked his wife to accompany him. Dayang Tri also asked her sister-in-law to join them and together they set off in a boat, bringing some food with them.

On reaching their destination they were surprised to find the fruit tree was not there. Dayang Tri persuaded her husband to look for another tree, and so Bunga Lawan went deeper into the forest with his sister, leaving Dayang Tri alone in the boat. In those days, it was a Melanau taboo for women who were with child not to go into the forest.

Dayang Tri and antu sababu

While Bunga Lawan and his sister were off looking for the fruit, Dayang Tri sat alone in the boat trying to amuse herself by putting her hands into the water.

Suddenly she saw a woman coming towards her from the river bank.

It turns out that this woman was the wicked fairy, the antu sababu, who was out to do her harm.

Dayang Tri did not realise this, inviting the woman to sit down in the boat with her. No sooner had the fairy entered the boat than she knocked Dayang Tri unconscious and threw her into the river.

Then the cunning antu sababu changed herself into Dayang Tri.

Antu Sababu living as Dayang Tri

When Bunga Lawan and his sister returned, the wicked fairy tried to greet them as Dayang Tri had always done, but she was unsuccessful because she was an antu.

It is said that wicked antu shout at people rather than talk to them, and so try as she might, she could not keep her voice down.

Believing that it was Dayang Tri, and not a wicked antu, Bunga Lawan thought that the atmosphere of the forest had affected his wife’s disposition and he hurriedly rowed homeward.

In time the antu sababu’s behaviour became worse, so much so that Bunga Lawan left her alone as often as he could. Soon she gave birth to a son who was just as ugly and wicked as his mother.

As the boy grew his wickedness became more pronounced; he would bully and beat up all his friends. Bunga Lawan was so angry that he ordered his men to kill his wife but spare the boy as he believed he was of his line.

Bunga Lawan also swore he would never marry again.

Ugul and Mainang

Near where Bunga Lawan had gone to look for buah pangai there lived an old couple who had no children. The couple were named Ugul and Mainang.

Ugul was a farmer and a fisherman. One morning, Mainang told her husband that she had had a dream the night before. She dreamt that the moon had fallen to earth and that she had picked it up.

To the Melanaus such a dream was portentous of good fortune.

Ugul teased his wife about it, making her angry. She turned away and told her husband not to follow her no matter where she went that day.

Mainang went to the river and looked into the trap that Ugul had set the previous night. To her surprise, she did not find fish, but a beautiful woman! She shouted for her husband to come and they strained as they pulled it up – for they were very old – at last successfully dragging the trap onto the bank.

They opened it and took the woman out. They rubbed her with a reviving potion and at long last she opened her eyes, and said, “Where am I?”

“You are with us, child,” said Mainang. They then brought her to their home and the aged couple treated her as their own.

Dayang Tri living with Ugul and Mainang

The woman was, of course, the lovely Dayang Tri whose place the antu sababu had usurped.

In time Dayang Tri gave birth to a fine boy who looked very much like his mother.

At the sight of the boy, Dayang Tri would often weep as she remembered husband Bunga Lawan.

Her son was called Berdak Mas. When Berdak Mas was 3-years-old, he found his mother weeping one day.

Little as he was, he wanted to know why.

Dayang Tri revealed to him who she was and who his father was.

On hearing this, the boy went away resolving that he would go to look for his father one day.

However, whenever he told his mother about this, Dayang Tri said he was far too young to think about it.

Berdak Mas and his dream

One night, Berdak Mas was asleep when he saw an old man coming to him.

The old man told him that his father, Bunga Lawan was very sick. “You are the only person, my child, who could cure your father’s illness. But before you go to him, you must be made strong so that no harm will come to you,” said the old man.

The next morning, Berdak Mas told his mother what had happened and sought permission to leave her.

His mother reluctantly agreed, even packing some food for his journey.

He bid farewell to her and travelled day and night.

Berdak Mas goes against Antu Sababu’s son

At last Berdak Mas came to a place where he saw a group of boys playing marbles.

He asked about Bunga Lawan and one of the boys who was very ugly said to him, “He is my father. Come and play with me. If you beat me in the game I shall lead you to him, but if you lose I shall beat you up.”

Berdak Mas agreed. No sooner had the ugly boy’s marble come into contact with his than it broke into hundreds of fragments. The ugly boy became very angry, dragging Berdak Mas to his father who lay in bed.

The happily ever after

As soon as Bunga Lawan saw him he bid him come near and asked, “Who are you, child?”

The little boy then told his father the story that his mother had told him. On hearing this, Bunga Lawan was so delighted that he got well again and followed his son back to his mother.

Dayang Tri was waiting for them both at the door and great was their reunion.

The ugly boy, son of the antu sababu, became their servant while Ugul and Mainang were taken to live with them in Bunga Lawan’s home. They all lived happily ever after.

This legend was recorded by Gertrude Wong and published in The Sarawak Gazette on Nov 30, 1953.

You might be interested in

Iban, Malay or Chinese? Looking at the origin of the name ‘Santubong’

Published on

The name Santubong is widely known among Sarawakians as the name of a mountain located in Sarawak.

The common myth is that the mountain takes its name after a celestial princess. But what other origin stories are there behind the name Santubong?

The legend of Princess Santubong

The common understanding of the legend behind Puteri Santubong is that she and her sister Puteri Sejinjang had an epic fight. As it usually is when it comes to fairy tales and legends, the two were fighting about which one of them was the more beautiful.

Sejinjang hit Santubong’s head, causing Santubong to fall to the earth. Managing to get the last ‘word’ in, Santubong threw the beam of her weaving loom at Sejinjang right before she fell and became a mountain.

The impact of her weaving loom broke Sejinjang’s body, and the pieces of her scattered into the ocean, forming nearby islands Pulau Satang, Pulau Talang-Talang and so on.

The discussion on the name Santubong in Sarawak Gazette correspondence

Santubong 15
The view that greets you from the top of Mount Santubong.

In the Sarawak Gazette which was published on Aug 31, 1953, there is a glossary of terms “with distinctly Chinese flavour which may be interest to readers.”

One of the words is Santubong. It stated that the word ‘Santubong’ was suggestive of Sanchubong (Kheh) ‘King of Wild Boars’ or Santoobong ‘Lord of the Jungle’.

In those days, readers were welcomed to write in and state their opinions on the subjects that have published in the gazette.

One reader, named I. A. N. Urquhart responded to the subject of the name Santubong, writing in to the gazette in September that year.

He stated, “I offer, without comment, a further fact, namely that ‘Santubong’ is the Iban word for ‘coffin’.”

C.N. Chong then responded to Urquhart in the November publication of the gazette. He agreed with Urquhart stating, “Coffin is also known in Iban as lungun. It appears, therefore, that ‘santubong’s an original Iban word as the Malays don’t use that word.”

However, Chong also pointed out that it would be interesting if anyone could explain whether the Iban meaning of ‘santubong’ has anything to do with the locality at all.

Santubong, Kheh (Hakka) or Cantonese origin

Santubong 2
Take a relaxing dip at one of the waterfalls at Mount Santubong.

Responding to all these correspondence, P. Aichner elaborated more about the name Santubong in his letter dated on Jan 27, 1954.

“The common opinion would be against it; it would rather deter people from going to Santubong, if they connect Santubong with the meaning of coffin. It is very likely that Santubong is Chinese (Kheh or Cantonese).

The explanation in August issue is certainly a good one, (Lord of the Jungle), if it can be proved that there was a Chinese temple in the locality in ancient times, because the Chinese would have gone there to worship the Tu Vong, the King of the earth.

However, Lim Swee Kee, Kapitan China of Dalat offers a more plausible explanation. The word Santubong is definitely Chinese (Kheh and Cantonese dialect) San-to-mong, i.e. the mountain much to gaze (the mountain with a good view), or it may also mean: the mountain much to hope for.

Nobody can deny the first meaning, that there is a good view from that mountain, and for many years it has been a holiday resort.

The second meaning, the mountain much to hope for, would also be justified. Imagine the Chinese coming with their junks from China, having been tossed about the waves, sighted the mountain and cried out full of joy San-to-mong, the mountain much to hope for. The perilous journey came to an end, and the sight of the mountain gave them fresh hopes for what lay ahead.

That San-to-mong became Santubong can easily be explained by the fact that people did not speak Chinese would have tried to imitate the pronunciation, sounded the m a little too hard, and it became Santubong.”

A Sarawakian mountain

Santubong 7

Meanwhile, Lee Kok Yin agreed that the name Santubong indeed came from the Hakka language.

He wrote in the Sarawak Gazette on Aug 31, 1957 , “In Chinese Hakka dialect, San means mountains; tu means in; bong means King. Santubong means ‘King of the Mountains’.”

Lee related it to a legend about how a Ming Dynasty fleet came to Sarawak. The leader of the fleet, Sam Pau Tai Chian gave honour to the local chief who helped them to fight piracy as San Tsung Wang (King of Mountain).

As time passed, the mountain which the chief lived on became ‘San Tsung Wang’ and eventually Santubong.

Overall, there are different kinds of accounts and legends explaining the meaning of Santubong, from a Malay celestial princess to a Iban and Chinese words.

Regardless, this symbolic mountain of Sarawak is truly Sarawakian with various races have their own stories and legends behind it.

Do you have stories on what is the meaning of Santubong? Let us know in the comment box.

You might be interested in

‘Fake news’ about Sarawak in The Manila Bulletin in 1931

Published on

On Oct 1, 1931, the editor of The Sarawak Gazette published an extract from the Manila Bulletin.

Founded in 1900, the bulletin is the Philippines’ largest English language broadsheet newspaper.

Published under what the gazette referred as ‘Fiction Column(?)’, the title of the article was “Only one Filipino lives in the British Oil Colony of Sarawak.”

From the title alone, there is obviously an error since Sarawak became a British Crown Colony only after World War II in 1946.

The content of the article did not sit well with the Gazette’s editor who hit back with sarcastic comments, calling it a ‘fairy tale’.

First, here is the extract from The Manila Bulletin which was published on Aug 7, 1931:

“Did you ever know that there is but one single Filipino, struggling for his existence and hobnobbing among whites and nomadic hunters representing the lowest type of culture, in Sarawak, the only place in the world where a white rajah can be found?

Mr and Mrs H.K Fortune, of the Shell Oil Company at Borneo, say so. They arrived in the city from Borneo where they stayed more than four years and are now on their way to the United States.

Sarawak is a British protectorate on the north-western coast of Borneo. It has an area of 42,000 square miles and a population of about 600, one-third of whom are Europeans, mostly British.

It has extensive oil wells owned and managed by the government of Great Britain.

Mr. Fortune, who had been in that unique place, stated that there is only one Filipino there. He said that the Filipino is a barber. He said that he knew before a Filipino garage mechanic but that he had never heard about that boy during the past three years. It is his belief that the Filipino mechanic had sailed for the Philippines.

It was indicated by Mrs. Fortune that place in Borneo is under the direct control and super vision of C.B. Brooks, the only white rajah in the world.

She said that that rajah is living like a king. He has a family which lives luxuriously. The foreign populace of that place is made up mostly of Europeans and few Americans.

There were more than 350 Europeans at that place two years ago but the number had been decreased considerably.

Mr Fortune said that no person, except when expressly authorised by the government of Great Britain, can land in that small but rich oil country.

He said that all boats calling at that place are required to stop more than 21 miles from the shore. No passengers, under ordinary circumstances, are allowed to go to that land.

Smoking is prohibited, Mrs Fortune said. That is one reason why the government of Great Britain is taking all steps to avoid letting any visitor go to that place for fear that the cigar stubs of the foreigners may set fire to the oil there.

No resident of Sarawak is allowed to leave the place for more than 21 days a year.

Mr Fortune said, “When you are entitled to what we call ‘local leave’, you can visit Java and Sumatra for 21 days but not more than that under ordinary circumstances. Some of the residents are entitled to ‘home leave’ in which case they can take a vacation to their respective countries for about eight months.”

Mr. and Mrs. Fortune are on a ‘home leave’ vacation to the United States.

They are stopping in the Philippines to visit Mr For tune’s brother who has been residing in Iloilo for the past 24 years.

The Sarawak Gazette’s editor responds to The Manila Bulletin:

We are safe in saying that this article represents the largest printed collection of “Terminological Inexactitude” since Ananias published his memoirs.

The Filipino ‘struggling for his existence’, runs a prosperous barber’s shop and we have never seen him hobnobbing with any ‘nomadic hunters’, no sir, all wrong.

We are expecting at any moment to hear that in the city of Manila, locked up in the local zoo, there is a Sarawakian aborigine of the lowest culture, flapping his wings and yawning through his hideous proboscis as he reads with sorrow and pity the latest Manila Bulletin; winks at a passing Pterodactyl and eventually flops down dead, having realised that there are only 599 of his kind left in his tobacco-less homeland, a home which he will never again approach nearer than 21 miles, and also that he should have visited Java or Sumatra for not more than 21 days.

Did Mr Fortune really tell the Editor of Manila Bulletin all these things? If so the credulity of Editors is incredible – and it might be use if a series of lecturers are delivered in Miri for the benefit of certain people for the benefit of certain people to leave it, the subject being “The Land We Live in” or “The Truth at Last Together with a few Pardonable Embellishments for the American Press.

What do you think? Were the Fortunes ill-informed about Sarawak during their four-year stay in the kingdom? Did they purposely spin a yarn just to get themselves on the paper? Or was it a 1930s version of fake news published by the Manila Bulletin? Let us know in the comment box.

fake 2355686 1280
Was it a fake news? Credit: Pixabay.

You might be interested in

Iban olden customary laws against adultery and elopement

Published on

Some people call it love, while others call it breaking the adat (custom).

Historically, many cultures consider adultery a very serious crime, subject to severe punishment such as capital punishment, mutilation or torture.

This includes the Iban people of Sarawak.

divorce 5092953 1280

According to Iban ethnologist Benedict Sandin, before Sarawak was under Brooke rule, if an Iban stole another man’s wife and he was caught, the woman’s husband had every right to strike him with a club.

He explained, “As a rule, therefore, in order to prevent this from happening, immediately after the incident, it was the duty of the longhouse chief to kill a cock as soon as possible. If the striking with a club had taken place before the cock was killed and the adulterer was killed in the process, his death would not be compensated by the killer. But if it occurred the killing of the cock, the striker would be heavily fined in accordance with the customary law of ‘Malu Mungkal’.

Furthermore, he would be ordered by the chief to pay the ‘pati nyawa’, the compensation for taking a life. The cost of ‘pati nyawa’ is one valuable jar in which the type is according to the rank of the deceased.

Charges for ‘berangkat’ or elopement

Let’s say if it was only an ordinary case of elopement, then both of the accused would be charged with adultery.

Writing for the Sarawak Gazette on May 31, 1964, Sandin stated, “They would be fined 30 catties which was equivalent to $21.60; the man twenty and the women ten.

“If they were to marry they would be charged with berangkat (taking someone’s husband or wife and vice versa). In due course the man would be fined 1 1/2 piculs or $43.20 and the woman one picul or $28.80.”

Meanwhile, the man was allowed to divorce his adulterous wife by paying the ordinary fine of twenty catties or $14.40. If they had children, they would be divided between the parties. If there was only one, according to Sandin, it would be given to the guiltless party.

You might be interested in

The Melanau Oya legend of Dayang Tri Kalala you might not know

Published on

If you never heard of the Melanau legend of Dayang Tri Kalala, here is a version of the tale from Oya which was published in the Sarawak Gazette on Nov 30, 1953:

Long, long ago, when Sarawak was only inhabited by natives there lived in a small but comfortable house at Sungei Sibu a beautiful Melanau princess called Dayang Tri Kelala or Lazy Princess because laziness was her chief characteristic.

Opposite her house stood an apong palm with its branches sprea out like a huge fan. As the little princess was alone she played each day under the palm.

Time passed and the princess grew into a beautiful woman.

palm trees 5161184 1280

Dayang Tri Kalala’s change of attitude

One day as she was playing as usual under the palm, she was surprised to hear her name called. Being trained not to answer calls when alone in the jungle, she did not answer at first but looked this way and that. She could see no one. She grew frightened and would have run away had she not heard her name called the second time.

The voice said, “Fear not, young and beautiful lady, for I am your friend the apong palm.”

On hearing this the princess gained courage and said, “Oh, is it you? I am so glad you can talk. From now on I shall have someone to talk to.”

But the palm said, “Go home and fetch a parang with you. With it you shall cut off some of my branches and leaves and make them into a sibuyong (a huge basket) and a slapau (a broom).


The princess did not like the idea of hard work and said, “Please do not ask me to do this because I am too lazy.”

But the palm turned on her in a threatening voice and reluctantly she agreed to start work.

It took her more than a week to finish the sibuyong and the slapau.

When she had completed her allotted task she found herself strangely energetic, whereupon she used the slapau she had made to clean her house, inside and out.

A prince and a tyrant

At that time a very handsome prince lived in Oya. He was unfortunately captured by a tyrant who wanted to marry him to his ugly daughter. This the prince would not do, because he did not love her and furthermore, because he knew that she was very cruel to other girls in the district.

He therefore made up his mind to run away, but the tyrant sensed this and place guards over him, so that it was impossible for him to execute his plan in spite of his loyal friends who tried to help him.

In time the tyrant decided on the marriage feast for his daughter.

The Melanau custom requires that a wedding ceremony to the prince to be performed at night, in order that her ugliness might be concealed.

He insisted that before the ceremony the prince should walk with his bride through the kampung.

The prince who was helpless did as he was told.

But as soon as they came to the place where the wedding was to be held the prince suddenly disappeared and every effort to look for him ended in failure.

The Prince and Dayang Tri Kalala

Dayang Tri Kalala found her sibuyong missing one day and was sad. For a week she searched. One night while she lay restless in bed, she heard a loud knock at her door, and, on opening it found her sibuyong standing on the threshold.

As she was wondering how it had come back to her, she heard a whisper from inside it saying, “Please open the sibuyong.”

No sooner had she done this than out came a handsome young man, dressed like a groom.

Both were speechless as each gazed on the others’ beauty.

The young man at last found his tongue and said, “Well, am I not welcome to your house?” Recovering her poise Dayang Tri Kalala answered, “Yes, indeed, if you despise not my humble abode.”

When they were inside the house the young man began to tell the princess who he was and unfolded to her what had befallen him. He said that the magic sibuyong had brought him to safety and shelter under her roof.

It was destined that she should become his protector and would she consent to accept him as her helpmate for life?

Dayang Tri Kelala shyly replied that she would seriously consider the matter, and in the meantime, invited the prince to stay in her house. He, in turn, informed her that he had hopes that his faithful men who were even then concealed in the forest awaiting an opportunity to overthrow the tyrant, would soon come to his rescue.

The end of the tyrant

They waited thus patiently for about a month without fresh developments.

Then one day as the princess was picking flowers in the forest she heard the beating of gongs from a distance.

As the sound came nearer she ran to fetch the prince who was fishing in the river .

For fear that it might be his enemies descending upon him, the prince armed himself with a sumpit (blowpipe) and hid with the princess behind a huge tree. Soon they were able to spy a group of men and women walking in procession towards them and singing out in a chorus. “Where is our prince? We are men from Oya. We have come to welcome our prince back as the tyrant and his daughter have both been killed.

When the prince heard this he begged Dayang Tri Kalala to come out to the open with him and show themselves.

As the princess hesitated, the prince leap forward and declared himself.

The men soon recognised and they knelt, crying,”Long live our prince.”

The prince, however, ordered them to stand up and to go to the princess to kneel before her, for she had saved his life.

This they joyfully did for the princess was gracious as she was beautiful.

The princess then thanked the prince for the honour he had bestowed on her, and when she was asked again to return with him to Oya as his bride. She willingly agreed this time.

And as soon as they had arrived home safely they were married and lived happily ever after, ruling both Oya and Sibu.

Whenever she had time Dayang Tri Kalala would teach the young women of her tribe how to make sibuyongs and slapaus out of the apong palm. And to this day we still find Melanau women fashioning and using the apong slapau.

You might be interested in

The mystery behind eight missing priests in Sabah during WWII

Published on

One of the worst things when it comes to the atrocities of war is not knowing the fate of your loved ones who went missing.

When people went missing during wartime, it became logical to presume they were dead.

However, without physical evidence, one may never know the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

When Borneo was under Japanese occupation during World War II, all European soldiers and civilians were taken as prisoners of war (POWs). These civilians included missionary priests and nuns who came to the island to spread Christianity and established schools.

In Sarawak, most of the priests and nuns were taken to the Batu Lintang POW camp. One Mill Hill priest who was the parish priest of Marudi went along with other British officers to go to Long Nawang, Kalimantan to seek refuge. There, he was executed with more than 40 people by the Japanese.

In North Borneo, however, a small group of priests and their companions went missing, their bodies never found, even after the war.

It is understood that they were killed but how? And when?

Who were the missing priests?

The oldest of the missing priests is Monsignor August Wachter, who was also the Prefect of Northern Borneo at that time.

Born in Bludenz in Austria on Dec 7, 1878, Wachter was ordained as a priest on Dec 6, 1903. He came to Borneo in September, 1905, first arriving in Kuching and serving in Mount Singai. He also founded the St Michael Catholic Church Penampang and the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception.

Reverend Joseph Bӧhm was born on Feb 20, 1900 in the diocese of Prague. He was ordained priest at the age of 27 and immediately sent to Borneo.

Meanwhile, Reverend Joseph Theurl was born on April 24, 1907 in Innsbruck, the fifth-largest city in Austria. Just like Bohm, he was sent to Borneo after his ordination on July 8, 1934.

The fourth of the missing priests was Reverend John Unterberger. He came to Borneo two days after his ordination on Sept 21, 1907. Unterberger was also the Pro-Prefect during the absence of Monsignor Wachter.

Reverend Mark Obertegger was born on April 18, 1905 at Meran. He came to North Borneo in 1930. The sixth missing priest is Reverend Anthony Raich. He was ordained during the First World War but he only joined the Mill Hill Society in 1923. Raich left for Borneo a year later in 1924.

The seventh priest in the group was Reverend Francis Flűr. Born on Jan 29, 1906, he was ordained on July 14, 1905 and then sent to Borneo.

Little is known about the eighth member of the group except that his name was Bro. Aegidius Leiter. He was a close companion of Monsignor Wachter.

Along with these eight religious men, there were three young local men who went missing with them. They were Patrick Lee, Peter Wong and Stanislaus Sabahai.

A fragment of a Roman collar that could have belonged to one of the missing priests

According to Union Catholic Asian News, British and Dutch missioners were detained in Batu Lintang POW Camp soon after the Japanese occupied Borneo in early 1942.

The report stated, “German missioners’ movements were restricted, except for Monsignor Wachter, who was free to visit Catholic communities. When Germany surrendered, the Japanese military no longer trusted the German missioners. Detained in May 1945, they were herded from place to place until they arrived in Tenom, the North Borneo Japanese military headquarters deep in the interior of Sabah, where one priest died of malaria in June. The other missioners were last reportedly seen alive in early August in Tenom, a piece of Roman collar found on the Sapong rubber estate near Tenom led to the belief they were killed there, but their bodies were never found.”

Located on the Tenom Lama-Kemabong road, Sapong was a rubber and tobacco estate established in 1905.

During the Japanese occupation, the estate became the 37th Japanese Army Headquarters in early 1944 to avoid being targeted by the Allies forces.

Were the missing priests shot to death?

An unnamed author wrote a historical account of what happen during the Japanese invasion of North Borneo which was published in The Daily Express on Nov 8, 2014.

In an article entitled ‘Looking back: North Borneo war scars’, the author gave his part of the story on might have happened to the eight missing priests.

He stated, “I have a sad and frightening story to tell. Monsignor A. Wachter, who was the Head of the Prefecture Apostolic of North Borneo and a few other priests of German nationals were later interned by the Japanese and were brought to Tenom from Penampang after the fall of Germany in 1945.

“Monsignor Wachter and the other priests, while being interned in Tenom, tried to contact us (my two brothers, Henry Edward, Jack Harry Maurice and myself) but they were refused permission by the Japanese to see us. We only learnt after the war, they were brought to Tenom from Penampang.

“Had we known they were in Tenom, we would have done something to rescue them from the Japanese. It was indeed sad to hear that Monsignor Wachter and the other priests were believed shot and killed by the Japanese.

“After the war, while I was serving in the District Office, Tenom, I tried my level best to locate the grave or graves of the late Monsignor Wachter and the other priests but to no avail.”

Fatt Choi 4
A view of Tenom town.

The missing priests could not have been killed by the Japanese because they spoke German?

However, another famous theory about what happened to the eight missing priests is that they were not killed by the Japanese in the first place.

As per reported in the Union Catholic Asian News, the Austrian priests at first were not interned by the Japanese because they knew how to speak German.

During WWII, the fight was between two major groups of nations which became known as the Axis Powers and the Allied Powers. The Allied forces were the countries that fought against the Axis powers. Meanwhile, the Axis Powers is an alliance between Germany, Japan and Italy.

It was believed that the Japanese did not interned the Austrian priests due to their alliance with the German.

If it is true, why did the Japanese capture and subsequently move them from Penampang to Tenom in May 1945?

The widely reported theory is that since Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allies on May 7, 1945, the Japanese could no longer believe the German-speaking Austrian priests.

Another theory is that after the failed resistance led by Albert Kwok and his Kinabalu Guerrillas, the Japanese started to turn aggressive toward the Catholic missionaries.

Putting aside what might be the reason behind the Japanese’ change of heart toward the priests, there is one thing for sure. The eight missing priests were moved from Penampang to Tenom in May 1945.

The answer could be in ‘A Glimpse of a Mystery’

In searching for the truth behind the mystery of missing priests, the answer could lie in the book ‘A Glimpse of a Mystery’.

Written by Fr Charles Chiew in 2012, the book explored all the possibilities of what could have happened to the priests.

He believed that the shooting of the priests by the Japanese was just based on rumour and hearsay.

In the end, Chiew concluded “without hesitation submit that the eight Austrian Mill Hill Missionaries, their companions and the Japanese soldiers and officers of the Judiciary Department perished at Sapong during the Allies Airstrike sometime between July 1 and August 15, 1945 (most likely on July 3, 1945).”

According to Chiew, there was no reason for the Japanese to kill the priests and they were in fact, brought to Tenom for their safety.

Even so, the airstrike caused the building of Judiciary Department and its occupants to be completely annihilated.

How did the Allies forces find out about the location of 37th Japanese Army Headquarters?

Operation Semut was a series of reconnaissance operations carried by Australia’s Z Special Unit during WWII. By June 1945, Operation Semut 1 successfully spread its armed forces thinly in entire northern Sarawak even as far as Tenom.

On top of that, they successfully gathered intelligence regarding Japanese positions in these areas.

The Allies forces then were able to launch precisely their attacks on Japanese strongholds including the Sapong estate, dropping bombs on it without knowing that there could be civilians inside these buildings.

At the end of the day, however, the mystery behind the eight missing priests could only be answered by theories.

Was it possible they were shot by the Japanese and then their graves were annihilated during the Allies airstrike? Maybe. Or what had Chiew proposed was true in the first place that they were all well and alive until the bombing? We might never a hundred per cent sure.

In remembrance of the eight missing priests, a cenotaph was erected to commemorate them at the Church of St. Anthony, Tenom.

Here are the photos of the cenotaph taken by KajoMag in August, 2018.

The mystery behind eight missing priests in Sabah during WWII 2
The mystery behind eight missing priests in Sabah during WWII 3
The mystery behind eight missing priests in Sabah during WWII 1

You might be interested in

How the officiating day of Kuching Old Courthouse went down in 1874

Published on

After the second White Rajah Charles Brooke ascended the throne in 1868, he started to look for the administrative center for Sarawak government.

He then picked the current location of Kuching Old Courthouse.

The construction started in 1868 and completed in 1874.

When it was finally officiated in 1874, the courthouse was one of the most majestic buildings in Sarawak.

Even though it is widely known as the old courthouse, the building housed several government agencies back in those days.

An unnamed writer wrote an article how the courthouse was officiated more than 100 years ago in The Sarawak Gazette on June 7, 1949, and here how it went:

Kuching was a gay place on the June 3, 1874; it was a fine day and the town was suitably beflagged.

At 8am a salute of 21 guns was fired from the Fort and all vessels in port were dressed overall whilst the firing of crackers and banging of guns continued throughout the morning.

The day was the birthday of His Highness the second Rajah and the big event was the opening of the new government offices, the same offices which are in use today.

A guard of honor composed of men of the Sarawak Rangers was mounted in the corridor of the court house and the opening ceremony was carried out by Captain William Henry Rodway, Acting Resident of Sarawak, ably supported by the Datu Bandar.

After the opening ceremony the health of Their Highnesses the Rajah and Ranee was proposed by Captain Rodway, there was another 21 gun salute, more crackers, more firing, and obviously a good time was had by all.

In the evening there was dinner at the Rajah’s Arms Hotel and the proceedings were enlivened by the band of the Sarawak Rangers who plated by kind of permission of the Commandment.

The new government offices took no less than seven years to build and they are described by a contemporary as being “a very handsome plain building suitable for the purpose; and if boasting of no great architectural beauty, is free from blemishes and bad taste and is not an eyesore.”

The courtroom measured 64 feet by 42 feet, the roof was open, and lined with wood deeply stained, which, with the heavy rafters and belian beams showing, all dark stained, gave a handsome, grave and heavy appearance suited to a court.

Adjoining and behind the dais was the Resident’s office, 22 feet square and next to that was another room occupied by the Government Printing Press.

At the end of the building, were four fine lofty rooms; the Treasury, the Post Office, the Audit Office and the Shipping being accommodated in them.

And there you have all the Government offices in Kuching in 1874.

Kuching Old Courthouse
Kuching Old Courthouse in 2019.

It would be interesting to celebrate the anniversary of Kuching Old Courthouse every June 3 to promote the conservation of the building. What do you think KajoMag readers?

You might be interested in

A Sarawak crocodile hunter from the 1950s shares his know-how

Published on

If you search ‘crocodile hunter’ on Google, the first thing that pops up in the result is ‘Steve Irwin’.

Irwin, who was famously known as the Crocodile Hunter, was an Australian television personality, zookeeper and environmentalist.

He died untimely in 2006 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

Do you know that Sarawak were known to have crocodile hunters more than 50 years ago?

One of them is John Leong, who wrote to Sarawak Gazette on February 28, 1955 about the sport of crocodile hunting in Sarawak.

According to Leong, crocodile hunting is a sport practiced in various parts of Sarawak but “as there is some risk attached to it, it should only be indulged in by people with steady nerves.

A crocodile hunter shares his method

Apparently, there were two methods to hunt a crocodile. “The first with hooks, the second with torch and spear. Both methods are widely used in Sarawak but little has been put down in writing about either,” he wrote.

“As for the method of using hooks; take 18 to 20 yards of good rattan sega, and some stout string for attaching the hooks, but it is better if you can have these on about yards of steel wire attached to the rattan”

For its bait, Leong used any type of flesh and he hung the hook eight to 10 inches above the surface of the water.

He explained that crocodiles use their nose to seek their prey and they can smell the flesh of any warm-blooded animal from a great distance.

What happens when the bait has been taken by the crocodile? The reptile would try to pull away the rattan in whichever direction its going.

Leong stated, “For this reason it is important that the rattan should not be fixed to any tree or log, but should be perfectly free. It is in the end of the rattan floating on the water that gives away the position of the crocodile and enables him to be traced.

“The rattan is now seized firmly, and at this point it is desirable to pronounce certain words as a precaution against attack by the crocodile.The rattan is the hauled vigorously; it is important to have ready some two yards of stout cord to tie the jaws of the crocodile as soon as it is emerges. Its fore-legs are then similarly secured, and afterwards its hind legs. It can then be towed to the bank where it is detached with an axe. It should be skinned immediately and the body disposed of. The skin should be rubbed over with salt and then put into a box. Store in a cool and dry place till ready for sale. Bear in mind when skinning that when you come to sell it, the dealer will measure the skin across the body as well as in length.”

Hunting for crocodile using torch and spear

According to Leong, the second method to hunt for crocodile is using torch and spear.

He stated, “In this case it is essential to use a big boat, indeed it is most unsafe to use small one, as the creature lashes out violently with its tail. Hunting in this fashion takes place, needless to say, at night.”

Firstly, let the boat drift silently down the river until the glint of the crocodile’s eyes can be seen.

Then, flash the torch at the crocodile like a lightning while paddling the boat closer.

When you are ready, throw the spear aiming as far as possible for the neck. Otherwise, the spear might go through the body and pierce the belly skin.

Do not forget to tie a good length of cord on the spear with a float at the other end of the cord.

“When struck by the spear the crocodile will plunge to the bottom and scurry away, but the float will reveal his whereabouts. When the cord has been secured, it is hauled in. If when the crocodile emerges it proves to be a big one, another spear will be needed to hold it,” Leong stated.

Understandingly, the reptile will fight furiously. However, when it begins to tire, slip a cord through its mouth and tie its jaws up, then its forefeet and its hind feet.

Finally, tow it to the bank and cut it. According to Leong, with reasonable luck it is possible to get five to six crocodiles in a night using this method.

Leong’s experience as a crocodile hunter

saltwater crocodile 1226664 1280

Leong explained that hunting with torch and spear is really a dangerous hobby since the crocodile can swiftly attack.

He added, “This sport calls for a steady eye, quick thinking and a cool head. If you can imagine that the crocodile is merely a large fish, all will be well, but I honestly do not recommend anybody to follow this method unless they possess really reliable charms.”

Leong, who was a teacher, also shared his love for crocodile hunting. He hunted either in his spare time or during the school holidays.

Before he was posted to Ulu Baram as a teacher, he used to hear of people being taken by crocodiles.

The crocodile hunter claimed that since he moved there such a thing was unknown. The children were finally able to swim freely across the river without any fear.

Crocodile Hunting in Sarawak present day

In October 2016, the status of crocodile management in Sarawak had been brought down from Appendix I to Appendix II in the list of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Under Appendix I, Sarawak was not allowed to sell the meat and skin overseas.

Now, Sarawak Forest Department approves applications to hunt crocodiles with hope that it would minimise conflicts between humans and reptiles. Those who are issued licenses will be briefed further on the department’s standard operating procedures (SOP) to prevent misuse and overharvesting.

Previously, Sarawak Wildlife Protection Act was enacted in 1990 to protect the animals from extinction.

You might be interested in

1 … 10 11 12 13 14 … 39