Kuching Sarawak

Kuching (/ˈkuːtʃɪŋ/ koo-ching), officially the City of Kuching,^[8] and formerly the City of Sarawak, is the capital and most populous city of theEast Malaysian state of Sarawak. The city covers an area of 719 sq miles (1,863 km²).

Kuching is one of the two subsets of the Kuching Proper subdistrict, the other subset being part of the Padawan municipality. Kuching Proper is one of the three subdistricts in the Kuching District, which is one of the three districts in the Kuching Division.

Etymology[edit]

More than 150 years ago Sarawak was essentially Kuching. Kuching was known as Sarawak first, then the word "Proper" was added to Sarawak, thus Sarawak Proper, so as to distinguish it from the larger Sarawak which, in 1841, consisted of only the area between Tanjung Datu, and the Samarahan River.^[9] On 12 August 1872 Sarawak Proper was given its present name, Kuching, under the rule of the secondRajah of Sarawak, Charles Brooke.^[10]

Kuching was named after a tidal stream called Kuching River (Sungai Kuching) that ran between the present-day Tua Pek Kong Temple, and the Chinese History Museum. The stream originated from Cat's Eye Hill (Bukit Mata Kuching) where there was an abundance of a local fruit called Green Longan (Isau, Dimocarpus longan ssp malesianus), vernacularly known as Cat's Eye (Mata Kuching).^[9] In 1928, the stream was filled up to make way for the construction of Temple Street (Lebuh Temple), and thus the city's expansion eastwards.^{[citation needed]}

History[edit]

Kuching is the third capital of Sarawak, founded by the representative of the Sultan of Brunei, Pengiran Indera Mahkota in 1827. Prior to the founding of Kuching, the two past capitals of Sarawak were Santubong, founded by Sultan Pengiran Tengah in 1599, and Lidah Tanah, founded by Datu Patinggi Ali in the early 1820s.^[11]

Kuching as the Capital of the Brooke Administration[edit]

Sir James Brooke, the first Rajah of Sarawak.

Sarawak was a part of the Sultanate of Brunei before it was ceded to British adventurer James Brooke, who ruled it as his personal kingdom from 24 September 1841. The official declaration was not made until 18 August 1842. Brooke took over as a reward for helping to bring about a peaceful settlement to aBidayuh uprising against the Sultan of Brunei.

Kuching became the seat of the Brooke government and underwent remarkable changes.^{[citation needed]}As the administrative capital, it was the focus of attention and development. Some of the first things James Brooke did was to introduce a code of laws and build his residence on a site at the northern bank of the Sarawak River.^{[citation needed]} The present-day Astana (Palace), which is now the official residence of the Governor of Sarawak, is next to the original Brooke building.

Kuching continued to prosper under Charles Vyner Brooke, who succeeded his father as the Third Rajah of Sarawak. In 1941, Kuching became the venue of the Brooke Government Centenary Celebration. A few months later, the Brooke administration came to a close when the Japaneseoccupied Sarawak.

World War Two[edit]

During the Second World War, six platoons of infantry from 2/15 Punjab Regiment were stationed at Kuching. Kuching would be defended because of its airfield, and because its occupation by the enemy would give access to the important Dutch airfield at Singkawang II, sixty miles to the southwest and only some 350 miles from Singapore.^[12]

Kuching was surrendered to the Japanese forces on 24 December 1941, and Sarawak was part of the Japanese Imperial Empire for three years and eight months, until the official Japanese surrender on 11 September 1945, on board HMAS Kapunda at Kuching. From March 1942, the Japanese operated a POW and civilian internee Batu Lintang camp, three miles (5 km) outside Kuching.^[13]

After the end of World War II the third and last Rajah, Sir Charles Vyner Brooke ceded Sarawak to the British Crown in 1946. Kuching was revitalised as the capital of Sarawak under the British Colonial Government. When Sarawak, together with Northern Borneo, Singapore and the Federation of Malaya, formed the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, Kuching was maintained as the State Capital.^{[citation needed]}

Geography[edit]

Kuching is at the banks of the Sarawak River on the northwestern part of the island of Borneo.

The limits of the City of Kuching include all that area in Kuching District containing an area approximately 431.01 square kilometres (166.41 sq mi) bounded from Gunung Lasak (Mount Lasak) in Muara Tebas to Batu Buaya (Crocodile Rock) in the Santubong peninsula following a series of survey marks as stated in the First Schedule of the City of Kuching Ordinance, 1988. As a simplification of the legal statute, the Kuching city limits extend from the Kuching International Airport in the south to the northern coast of the Santubong and Bako peninsulas; from the Kuching Wetlands National Park in the west to the Kuap River estuary in the east. The Sarawak River generally splits the city into North and South.

The highest point in the city is Mount Santubong on the Santubong peninsula, which is at 810.2 metres (2,658 ft) AMSL, located 35 km north of the city centre.

Climate[edit]

City of Kuching (2008)
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D 466 30 23 445 29 23 465 30 23 251 32 23 347 33 24 310 32 23 184 31 23 326 32 23 208 32 23 307 32 23 482 32 24 516 30 23 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: Monthly Statistical Bulletin Sarawak
[show]Imperial conversion

Kuching has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification Af), moderately hot but very humid at times and receives substantial rainfall. The average annual rainfall is approximately 4,200 millimetres (170 in).^[14] Kuching is the wettest populated area (on average) in Malaysia with an average of 247 rainy days per year. Kuching receives only 5 hours of sunshine per day on average and an average of only 3.7 hours of sunshine per day in the month of January (wettest month of the year). The wettest times are during the North-East Monsoonmonths of November to February and the dry season starts from June till August. The temperature in Kuching ranges from 19 °C (66 °F) to36 °C (97 °F) but the average temperature is around 23 °C (73 °F) in the early hours of the morning and rises to around 33 °C (91 °F) during mid afternoon but the heat index often reaches 42 °C (108 °F) during the dry season due to the humidity. This temperature stays almost constant throughout the year if it is not affected by the heavy rain and strong winds during the early hours of the morning which could but rarely bring the temperature down to 19 °C (66 °F).^{[citation needed]}

Kuching
—  City  —
City of Kuching
Kuching, the capital of Sarawak Official Seals of the City of Kuching Commission of the City of Kuching North Council of the City of Kuching South
Nickname(s): "Cat City"
Kuching Location in Borneo
Kuching Location in Malaysia
Coordinates: 1°33′36″N 110°20′42″ECoordinates: 1°33′36″N 110°20′42″E
Country	Malaysia
State	Sarawak
Division	Kuching Division
District	Kuching District
First settled	Circa AD 600s (7th century)[1]
Incorporation (Municipality)	November 1906[2]
Incorporation (City)	1 August 1988
Government
• Type	Kuching South : Mayor–council government Kuching North : Council–manager government
• Mayor (Kuching South)	James Chan Khay Syn[3]
• Commissioner(Kuching North)	Datuk Abang Wahap Abang Julai[4]
Area[5]
• City of Kuching	431.01 km2 (166.41 sq mi)
• Kuching North	369.48 km2 (142.66 sq mi)
• Kuching South	61.53 km2 (23.76 sq mi)
	Sourced from the DBKU official website
Elevation	27 m (89 ft)
Highest elevation	810.2 m (2,658.1 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population (2012)[7]
• Density	1,208.2/km2 (3,129/sq mi)
• Metro	617,887 [6]
Time zone	MST (UTC+8)
• Summer (DST)	Not observed (UTC+8)
Postal code	93xxx
International dialling code prefix	+6082 (landline only)
Vehicle registration plate prefix	QQ, QA and QK (for all vehicles except taxis) HQ (for taxis only)
Website	Kuching North:www.dbku.sarawak.gov.my/ Kuching South:www.mbks.gov.my/