Sibu Division is one of the twelve administrative divisions of

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, 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 M ...

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 has a total area of 8,278.3 square kilometres, and is the third largest division after

Kapit Division Kapit Division, formed on 2 April 1973, is one of the twelve administrative divisions in Sarawak, Malaysia. It has a total area of 38,934 square kilometres, and is the largest of the administrative divisions of Sarawak. Its population (year 20 ...

and

Miri Division Miri Division is one of the twelve administrative divisions of Sarawak, Malaysia. It has a total area of 26,777.1 square kilometres, and is the second largest division after Kapit Division. The seat of this division is the city of Miri. The pop ...

. The population of Sibu Division (year 2000 census) was 257,300. Ethnically, the population was mostly

Iban IBAN or Iban or Ibán may refer to: Banking * International Bank Account Number Ethnology * Iban culture The Ibans or Sea Dayaks are a branch of the Dayak people, Dayak people on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is believed that the ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

, and

Melanau 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 ...

. Sibu Division consists of three districts:

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 ...

Kanowit Kanowit ( Malay: ''Pekan Kanowit'') is a town and the capital of a district of the same name, located within the Sibu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, comprising 2,253.5 square kilometres. As of 2010, Kanowit's population is 28,985. It is built ...

, and Selangau. The economy is largely based on timber extraction from the extensive

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equatori ...

. Processed wood products, rather than log export has been given priority by the government. Agriculture is relatively minor, with

oil palm ''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms containing two species, called oil palms. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African oil palm '' Elaeis guineensis'' (the species name ''guineensis'' referring to its c ...

and

pepper Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...

the main products. Tourism, particularly

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

, is a growing component of the economy. The two major rivers in the Sibu Division are the

Rajang River The Rajang River ( ms, Batang Rajang) is a river in Sarawak, northwest Borneo, Malaysia. The river originates in the Iran Mountains, flows through Kapit, and then towards the South China Sea. At approximately , the river is the seventh-longest i ...

and the

Igan River The Igan River ( ms, Sungai Igan) is a river in Sarawak, Malaysia. It joins the Sungai Rajang in Sibu. The river is still used as the primary method of travel to a number of rural districts in Sarawak. See also * List of rivers of Malaysia Thi ...

Early history

Before 1 June 1873, Sibu was known as "Maling", named after the winding portion, Tanjung Maling, on the other side of Rejang River. Maling was a small village with a few small and simple shop houses consisted of atap roof and wooden walls and floors. Main population was Malay and Chinese was minority. In 1841 "Sarawak" (the present

Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River ...

- Sarawak capital) was ruled by 'White Rajah',

James Brooke Sir James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak (29 April 1803 – 11 June 1868), was a British soldier and adventurer who founded the Raj of Sarawak in Borneo. He ruled as the first White Rajah of Sarawak from 1841 until his death in 1868. Brooke was bor ...

. On 1 June 1873, the third division was created and the division was named after the native Rambutan because the division had a lot of native Rambutan known as "Buah Sibau" in Iban language. In 1901

Wong Nai Siong Wong Nai Siong (; Bàng-uâ-cê: Uòng Nāi-siòng) (1849—1924) as a Chinese revolutionary leader and educator from Minqing county in Fuzhou, Fujian province, China. He served in The Methodist Episcopal Church for many years and participa ...

led the first batch of Foochows from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

to Sibu to open up the fertile lands of Sibu for cultivation, a massive opening up of Sibu. Therefore, it was a landmark year or a milestone in the history of the development of Sibu. Wong Nai Siong came to Singapore in September 1899. From there, he proceeded to West Malaysia,

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

and the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

. For six months he explored the places but failed to find a suitable place for the immigration and settlement of his folks in China. In April 1900, Wong came to Sarawak and got the approval of the Sarawak Rajah to look for a suitable site for Chinese immigrants. Wong explored the lower valley and upper reaches of the

Rejang River The Rajang River ( ms, Batang Rajang) is a river in Sarawak, northwest Borneo, Malaysia. The river originates in the Iran Mountains, flows through Kapit, and then towards the South China Sea. At approximately , the river is the seventh-longest i ...

. He soon discovered that the Rejang Delta was very fertile and particularly suitable for cultivation. He decided to choose the area for opening up for cultivation. With that decision, Wong went to see the second Rajah of Sarawak, Rajah Charles Brooke, for discussions regarding the matter of opening up of land for cultivation. In those days of the Rajahs, Sarawak was sparsely populated with vast land yet to be developed, Wong's plan was timely and very much appreciated. When Wong went to see Sir Charles Brooke and explained to him his plan to lead large groups of Foochows to open up Sibu for cultivation, the Rajah immediately agreed. Both parties signed an agreement. The Chinese immigrants came in three batches. The first batch consisted of 72 people, the second batch 535, and the third batch 511, totalling 1118 people. Of the total, 130 brought their spouses and families, while the others were bachelors. After working in Sibu, nearly all the immigrants chose to settle down and made Sibu their new home. They were happy to settle down for a brighter future in Sibu.

Administration

Members of Parliament

References

External links

Sibu Online
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