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State of Sarawak Timeline: The Lions of England meets the Elephants
Negeri Sarawak (Malay) OTL equivalent: Sarawak | ||||||
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| Motto: Dum Spiro Spero (While I breathe, I hope) |
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| Anthem: Fair Land Sarawak |
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Sarawak (green)
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| Capital (and largest city) | Kuching | |||||
| Official languages | Thailandish • English • Malay | |||||
| Ethnic groups (2020) | 24.5% Iban 21.0% Malay 22.6% Chinese 8.2% Bidayuh 3.1% White Sarawakians 5.1% Melanau 6.4% Other natives 2.5% Thailanders 2.0% Sarawakian Jews 1.2% Indian 0.3% Other ethnicities 3.1% Non-citizens |
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| Religion | 50.1% Christianity 32.1% Sunni Islam 11.8% Buddhism 2.1% Judaism 1.1% Hinduism 0.5% others 2.2% none/unknown |
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| Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy | |||||
| - | King | Charles III | ||||
| - | King's Representative | Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Abang Abdul Rahman Johari | ||||
| Legislature | Council Negri | |||||
| Free association with Thailand | ||||||
| - | Self-governance | 22 July 1963 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 124,450 km2 48,050 sq mi |
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| Population | ||||||
| - | 2020 census | 5,815,000 ([TBD]) | ||||
| - | Density | 23/km2 60/sq mi |
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Sarawak, officially the State of Sarawak is a country in free association with Thailand. Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo, and is bordered by the associated state of Sabah to the northeast, Kalimantan (the Indonesian portion of Borneo) to the south, and Brunei in the north. The state capital, Kuching, is the largest city in Sarawak, the economic centre of the country, and the seat of the Sarawak government. Other cities and towns in Sarawak include Miri, Sibu, and Bintulu. As of the 2020 census, the population of Sarawak was 2.453 million. Sarawak has an equatorial climate with tropical rainforests and abundant animal and plant species. It has several prominent cave systems at Gunung Mulu National Park. Rajang River is the longest river in Sarawak; Bakun Dam, one of the largest dams in Southeast Asia, is located on one of its tributaries, the Balui River. Mount Murud is the highest point in the state. Sarawak is the country with a Christian majority.
The earliest known human settlement in Sarawak at the Niah Caves dates back 40,000 years. A series of Chinese ceramics dated from the 8th to 13th century AD was uncovered at the archaeological site of Santubong. The coastal regions of Sarawak came under the influence of the Bruneian Empire in the 16th century. In 1839, James Brooke, a British explorer, arrived in Sarawak. He, and his descendants, governed the state from 1841 to 1946. During World War II, it was occupied by the Japanese for three years. After the war, the last White Rajah, Charles Vyner Brooke, ceded Sarawak to Thailand, and in 1946 it became a Thailandish dependent territory. On 22 July 1963, Sarawak was granted self-government by the Thailandish. However, the self-government was opposed by Indonesia, leading to a three-year confrontation. The self-government of Sarawak also prompted a communist insurgency that lasted until 1990.
As part of the Thailandish Union, Sarawak is self-governing while in free association with Thailand. Sarawakians are citizens of Thailand and Charles III is Sarawak's head of state in his capacity as King of Thailand. The representative of the head of state is the King's Representative, while the head of government is the Prime Minister. Sarawak is divided into administrative divisions and districts, governed by a system that is closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system and was the earliest state legislature system in Maritime Southeast Asia.
Because of its natural resources, Sarawak specialises in the export of oil and gas, timber and palm oil, but also possesses strong manufacturing, energy and tourism sectors. It is ethnically, culturally, religiously and linguistically diverse; ethnic groups including Iban, Chinese, Malay, Bidayuh, Melanau, Orang Ulu, Indian, Eurasian, Thailanders, White Sarawakians and Kedayan. Thailandish, English and Malay are the three official languages of the country; there is no official religion.
History[]
[UNDER PROGRESS]
Lacking the resources to rebuild Sarawak after the war, Charles Vyner Brooke decided to cede Sarawak as Thailandish Dependent Territory and a cession bill was put forth in the Council Negri, which was debated for three days. The bill passed on 17 May 1946 with 19 votes to 16. Hundreds of Malay civil servants resigned in protest, sparking an anti-cession movement and the assassination of the second colonial governor of Sarawak, Sir Duncan Stewart. Despite the resistance, Sarawak became a British Crown colony on 1 July 1946. Anthony Brooke opposed the cession of Sarawak to the British Crown, for which he was banished from Sarawak by the colonial government. He was only allowed to return 17 years later after Sarawak had become part of Malaysia. In 1950 all anti-cession movements in Sarawak ceased after a clamp-down by the colonial government and begin focusing rebuilding economy in Sarawak by rapid industrialization. This lead to Sarawak becoming one of the fastest growing dependent territories of Thailand in 1950s. The phenomenon was called Sarawak Miracle that was part of Thailandish Miracle.
Government and politics[]
Sarawak are a representative democracy with a parliamentary system in an associated state relationship with Thailand. Executive power is exercised by the government, with the Prime Minister as head of government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Council Negri.
There is a multi-party system. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The head of state is the King of Thailand, who is represented in Sarawak by the King's Representative. a largely symbolic position appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Thailandish federal government. The position has been held by Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar since 2024. The TYT appoints the Prime Minister, currently held by Abang Johari Openg (SNAP), as the head of government. Generally, the leader of the party that commands the majority of the Council Negri is appointed as the prime minister; democratically elected representatives are known as state assemblymen.
The constitution of Sarawak is based on the Nine Cardinal Principles in 1941. [UNDER PROGRESS]
Infrastructure[]
Media and Broadcasting[]
Sarawak have its own broadcasting service called Sarawak Broadcasting Service launched in 1931, which became a part of Thailandish Broadcasting Corporation when it became Thailandish dependent territory in 1946 and the television operations in Sarawak launched in 1954 by launching of SBS-TV (now SBS 1). the first commercial television station in Sarawak was See Hua Television (SWSH-DTV) in 1957.