Sarawak is Malaysia's largest state
by area, the 4th largest by population, and is one of the three sovereign
rations that formed the Federation of Malaysia on 16" September 1963, the
others being Malaya and Sabah (a fourth, Singapore, withdrew from the
Federation in 1965). The Constitutional Head of State is the Yang di Pertua
Negeri who is appointed by the Supreme Sovereign, the Yang Di Pertuan Agong of
Malaysia. The state is governed by the majority grouping in the elected State
Legislative Assembly, which is headed by the Chief Minister, who is assisted by
a Cabinet of Ministers and Assistant Ministers.
The state capital is Kuching, which
has a population of 650,000. Major cities and towns include Miri (pop. 300,000),
Sibu (pop. 250,000) and Bintulu (pop. 180,000). At the most recent census
(2010), the state population was 2.4 million. The population density is 20
people per sq km, the lowest In Malaysia.
Sarawak's population is
divided into anything between 27 and 40 ethnic and sub-ethnic groups (depending
which classification method is used). The largest are the Iban (29%), the
Chinese (24%), the Malays (23%), the Bidayuh (8%), the Melanau (6%) and the Orang
Ulu (a collective term for a host of upriver tribes and sub groups, 5%).
Sarawak's land area of 124,450 sq
km makes it almost as large as Peninsular Malaysia or England and slightly
larger than North Korea or New Mexico. It is located immediately north of the
Equator between 0° 50" and 5°north and 109° 36' and 115" 40' east. It
stretches some
800 kilometres along the northwest
coast of Borne, and is separated from Peninsular Malaysia by the Sotti China
Sea - a distance of over 600 kilometres. It bordr> the State of Sabah to the
northeast, where the Sultanie of Brunei forms a double enclave, and Kalimanta
Indonesia, to the south and east.
The state is divided into three
geographic areas - coasal lowlands comprising peat swamp as well as narra/
deltaic and alluvial plains; a large region of undulatij hills ranging to about
300 metres; and the mountin highlands extending to the Kalimantan border.
About 80 per cent or almost 10
million hectares)' Sarawak's total land area is covered with forest (natual as
well as secondary and planted forests). The remainis 2.3 million hectares are
under settlements, tows agricultural crop cultivation and native customary
rigfe land. Sarawak's rainforest is acknowledged to be amog the world's most distinct
and species-rich.
Sarawak has an equatorial climate.
The temperaM is relatively constant throughout the year - within tie range of
23 degrees C early in the morning to 33 degres C during the day. In highland
areas such as Bario, tie temperature ranges between 16 and 25 degrees C during
the day and gets as low as 11 degrees C on sore nights.
The northeast monsoon, usually
between Novembr and February, brings heavy rain, while the southwel monsoon
from June to October is usually milder. Tte average rainfall per year is
between 3,300 mm and 4,60 mm, depending on locality. Humidity is consistently
hiji in the lowlands, ranging from 80 % to over 90 %.
