Balingian also known as Kuala Balingian is a town in

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. It lies approximately east-north-east of the state capital Kuching.

Etymology

Baligian got its name from a river crossing the town. The river was once used by the local residents to go to their hill paddy fields.

History

Government

The Balingian sub-district is administered by a Sarawak Administrative Officer (SAO) and three ''Penghulu'' (regional chief). Administrative areas of Balingian sub-district includes Balingian delta, Arip river, Bawan river, and Bawang Assan river.

Geography

Balingian is located inside the Balingian sub-district, about 60 km from Mukah town. The Balingian sub-district is measured as 3,032 km². The town of Balingian is located between the Mukah town and the

Bintulu Bintulu is a coastal town on the island of Borneo in the central region of Sarawak, Malaysia. Bintulu is located 610 kilometres (380 mi) northeast of Kuching, 216 kilometres (134 mi) northeast of Sibu, and 200 kilometres (120 mi) ...

town. It takes one hour to go to Mukah from Balingian and three hours to go to

Sibu Sibu (; Hokchew Romanized: ''Sĭ-bŭ'') is a landlocked city in the central region of Sarawak. It is the capital of Sibu District in Sibu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The city is located on the island of Borneo and covers an area of . It i ...

. Balingian can also be reached through the sea from Tatau and Bintulu. There is also a coastal road connecting Balingian to the mouth of the Balingian river and Tatau. Neighbouring settlements include: * Lemai south *

Kuala Tatau Kuala Tatau is a village in Tatau District, Bintulu Division in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is located at the mouth of Tatau River with the South China Sea, about downstream to the north of the district town Tatau, as well as about sout ...

northeast * Penipah west * Tatau east * Kenyana west * Penakub west *

Rumah Kelambu Rumah means "house" or "home" in the Indonesian language Indonesian ( ) is the official and national language of Indonesia. It is a standardized variety of Malay, an Austronesian language that has been used as a lingua franca in the mu ...

east * Kampung Jebungan west * Mukah west * Rumah Nyawai south

Climate

Balingian has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

(Af) with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.

Demographics

According to the Balingian public health clinic estimation, Balingian town has a total population of 15,327 people in 2002. It consists of

Iban people The Ibans or Sea Dayaks are a branch of the Dayak peoples on the island of Borneo in South East Asia. Dayak is a title given by the westerners to the local people of Borneo island. It is believed that the term "Iban" was originally an exonym ...

(68.3%) and

Melanau people Melanau or ''A-Likou'' (meaning River people in Mukah dialect) is an ethnic group indigenous to Sarawak, Malaysia. They are among the earliest settlers of Sarawak. They speak in the Melanau language, which is a part of the North Bornean branc ...

(29.49%). All the populations stay in six villages and 137 longhouses.

Economy

Majority of the residents here manage their own shophouses and individual stalls in bazaar. A bazaar is held every weekend selling daily necessities and agricultural produce. The establishment of Regional Growth Centre (RGC), Sarawak Oil-Palm Plantation (SOP),

FELCRA Berhad Felcra Berhad is a corporate organisation wholly owned by the Malaysian Government, under the Minister of Finance (Incorporated). Felcra Berhad was started off and initially established as a statutory body in 1966 with the name Federal Land Con ...

allows the local people to involve in large scale oil palm plantations. Other economic activities in Balingian include:

sago Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is c ...

, rice, and coconut cultivation, fish and chicken domestication, and logging. Coal mining has been ongoing in the Balingian coal field. Balingian coal-fired power plant commenced operation since May 2019. It is the first plant in Malaysia to use

circulating fluidized bed The circulating fluidized bed (CFB) is a type of Fluidized bed combustion that utilizes a recirculating loop for even greater efficiency of combustion. while achieving lower emission of pollutants. Reports suggest that up to 95% of pollutants Ci ...

technology to handle various coal types. Under

Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy The Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy ("SCORE") is an economic region and development corridor covering central Sarawak, a Malaysian State on the island of Borneo. SCORE was launched in 2008. It is one of the five regional development corridors ...

(SCORE); an aluminium smelting plant located at about 25 km from Balingian was built.

Offshore oil Offshore drilling is a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled below the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently extract petroleum that lies in rock formations beneath the seabed. Most commonly, the te ...

and gas is also a growth area for Balingian.

Transport

Road

Coastal road has improved Balingian link to other towns.

Other utilities

Education

Amongst the schools available here are: SRK Parish (Parish primary school), SRB Chung Hua (Chung Hua primary school), Perpaduan kindergarten and Sedidik. kindergarten.

Healthcare

Balingian public health clinic was established in 1989. The clinic also has implemented a Teleprimary care (TPC) system. It is an audiovisual system where patients can be assessed and treated remotely without being sent to the nearby hospitals.

Culture and leisure

Baligian is known for its river shrimps and have become an attraction for anglers.

References

{{Sarawak Towns in Sarawak