Duncan George Stewart (22 October 1904 – 10 December 1949) CMG was a British colonial

administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

and

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. He was mortally wounded in an assassination on 3 December 1949, in

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 ...

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, ...

Early life

Stewart was born in Witkleifontein on 22 October 1904 in the

Transvaal Colony The Transvaal Colony () was the name used to refer to the Transvaal region during the period of direct British rule and military occupation between the end of the Second Boer War in 1902 when the South African Republic was dissolved, and the ...

now part of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

, and educated in England at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

and

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

, where he graduated with a BA.

Agnes Newton Keith Agnes Newton Keith (July 4, 1901 – March 30, 1982) was an American writer best known for her three autobiographical accounts of life in North Borneo (now Sabah) before, during, and after World War II. The second of these, ''Three Came Home'', t ...

, ''White Man Returns'' (1951), pp. 282, 283

Career

Stewart joined the Colonial Administration Service (CAS) in 1928, and held positions as district officer at Oya Territory, Nigeria, colonial secretary in the Bahamas, secretary of finance in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

, and secretary of the governorial conference in South Africa. He married and had three children. His service record was viewed as exceptional, and because of that, he was later announced as the new governor and commander-in-chief for Sarawak by

Lord Listowel William Francis Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel, (28 September 1906 – 12 March 1997), styled Viscount Ennismore between 1924 and 1931, was an Anglo-Irish peer and Labour politician. He was the last Secretary of State for India as well as the las ...

minister of state for colonial affairs The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and, from 1948, also to a Minister of State. Under-Secretaries of State for the Col ...

, to replace Charles Arden-Clarke.

Assassination

Stewart had only been in the new role as Governor of Sarawak for a couple of weeks and was in fact on his first official visit in the colony, to the town of

on 3 December 1949. According to press reports of the event he was warmly welcomed by large crowds, who all seemed to be enjoying themselves. After inspecting an honour guard and meeting a group of school children, a youth (Moshidi bin Sedek) walked towards him holding a camera claiming to want a picture. As Stewart posed, another youth ( Rosli bin Dobi) stabbed him. Both youths were immediately arrested. Despite suffering a deep stab wound Stewart is reported to have tried to carry on until blood began to seep through his white uniform. He was then quickly rushed away for treatment in

Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River at the southwest tip of the state of Sar ...

but died a few days later after being flown to the

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after '' ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. The two youths were convicted of the murder and hanged. Both were believed to be members of the anti-cession movement, and dedicated to restoring Anthony Brooke to the throne of Sarawak. In fact they were both from a political group agitating for union with newly independent

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

. Documents released in the late 20th century indicate that the British Government knew that Brooke was not involved, but chose not to reveal the truth of the matter so as not to provoke Indonesia. It had recently won its

war of independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of ...

from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and the UK was already dealing with the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces ...

to the north-west.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Duncan Governors of Sarawak 1904 births 1949 deaths Assassinated British people Assassinated heads of government Deaths by stabbing in Malaysia Administrators in British Borneo Assassinated Malaysian people British people murdered abroad Mandatory Palestine people Colonial Secretaries of the Bahamas People of colonial Nigeria Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford People educated at Winchester College British expatriates in Transvaal Colony