Miri

)
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = State
, subdivision_name1 =
, subdivision_type2 = Division
, subdivision_name2 = Miri Division
, subdivision_type3 = District
, subdivision_name3 = Miri District
, established_title1 = Founded by Royal Dutch Shell
, established_date1 = 10 August 1910
, established_title2 = Granted municipality status
, established_date2 = 6 November 1981
, established_title3 = Granted city status
, established_date3 = 20 May 2005
, government_type = Miri City Council
, government_footnotes =
, leader_title = Mayor
, leader_name = Adam Yii Siew Sang
, total_type = Miri City
, area_footnotes =
, area_magnitude = 1 E+6
, area_total_km2 = 997.43
, elevation_footnotes =
, elevation_m = 8
, elevation_max_footnotes =
, elevation_max_m =
, elevation_min_footnotes =
, elevation_min_m = 0
, population_footnotes =
, population_total = 300,543
, population_as_of = 2020
, population_density_km2 = 301
, population_density_sq_mi =
, population_blank1_title = Demonym
, population_blank1 = Mirian
, timezone1 = MST
, utc_offset1 = +8
, timezone1_DST = Not observed
, utc_offset1_DST = +8
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 98xxx
, blank_name = Area code(s)
, blank_info = +6085 (landline only)
, blank1_name = Vehicle registration
, blank1_info = QM and QM****A (etc..)
HQ
, website =

Miri ( Jawi: ; ) is a coastal city in northeastern Sarawak, Malaysia, located near the border of Brunei, on the island of Borneo. The city covers an area of , located northeast of Kuching and southwest of Kota Kinabalu. Miri is the second largest city in Sarawak, with a population of 300,543 as of 2020. The city is also the capital of Miri District of the Miri Division.

Before Miri was founded, Marudi was the administrative centre of the northern region of Sarawak. Miri was founded in 1910 when the first oil well was drilled by Royal Dutch Shell. The discovery of an oil field in Miri has led to rapid development of Miri town. Miri became the administrative centre of the northern region of Sarawak by 1929. During World War II, the Miri oil fields were destroyed by the Brooke government to sabotage Japanese operations in Southeast Asia but to no avail; Miri town was the first landing point of Japanese troops in Borneo. The subsequent Japanese occupation led Miri to become a target of Allied air raids which caused the destruction of oil refinery facilities in Miri. The petroleum industry continued to be a major player in the city's economy after the war. Oil exploration has moved offshore since the 1950s, but subsequently new inland oil fields were found in 1989 and 2011. In 1974, the formation of Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas led to co-operation between Petronas and Shell on oil exploration in the Miri region. In 2005, Miri became the 10th city in Malaysia to be granted official city status, the first non-state capital city to be bestowed such status.

Miri is the main tourist gateway to the world-famous UNESCO World Heritage Site, Gunung Mulu National Park; Loagan Bunut National Park; Lambir Hills National Park; Niah National Park and Miri-Sibuti Coral Reef National Park. The Gunung Mulu National Park with its Sarawak Chamber, which is the largest known cave chamber in the world by area, remains one of the favourite ecotourism destinations in Miri. Miri is also the birthplace of the Malaysian petroleum industry. Other major industries in the city include timber, oil palm and tourism.

Etymology

Miri town is named after a minority ethnic group called "Jatti Meirek" or simply "Mirek", or "Miriek". This ethnic group is the earliest settlers in the region of Miri Division. Europeans who later came to the region for oil exploration mistakenly pronounced "Miriek" as "Miri", and this name continues to be used today.

Prehistory

The first foragers visited the West Mouth of Niah Cavelocated southwest of Miri city50,000 years ago when Borneo was connected to the mainland of Southeast Asia. The landscape of Niah Cave was drier and more open than it is now. Prehistoric Niah Cave was surrounded by a mosaic of closed forests with bush, parkland, swamps, and rivers. The foragers were able to survive in the rainforests through hunting, fishing, mollusc collection, and plant gathering. The earliest evidence of human population in the area dates back to 40,000 BC in Niah Cave at Paleolithic period. This is evidenced by the discovery of a ''Homo sapiens'' skull nicknamed "Deep Skull" in a deep trench uncovered by Tom Harrisson in 1958, which is the oldest modern human skull in Southeast Asia. The skull probably belongs to a 16- to 17-year-old adolescent girl. Unfossilised ''Manis paleojavanica'' (Asian giant pangolin) bone dated back to 30,000 BC was also found in the proximity of the "Deep Skull", as well as with the Mesolithic and Neolithic burial sites inside the Niah Caves.

History

Brooke administration

Charles Brooke succeeded James Brooke as the new Rajah of Sarawak in 1868. By 1883, Sultan of Brunei ( Sultan Abdul Momin) ceded the Baram region (including Miri) to Charles Brooke. The fourth division of Sarawak was immediately created with the installation of Claude Champion de Crespigny as the first Resident of the Division. The Miri area was still a fishing village at that time. It was a small settlement surrounded by mangrove and Nipah palm jungles consisted of 20 scattered houses, a few wooden shops operated by Chinese traders and a lone Arab trader. A fort was built in Claudetown (present day Marudi, to the east of Miri) in 1883. Claudetown became the administrative centre of the division. Mr Claude's administration was helped by two junior officers, 30 rangers, and a few native police. Charles Hose succeeded Mr de Crespigny as the new Resident in 1891 and the fort in Marudi was renamed as "Fort Hose". To restore peace among various ethnic tribes fighting in the Baram region, Charles Hose decided to organise a peace conference at his fort in April 1899. This peace conference also led to the birth of first Baram Regatta, a long boat race competition among the natives which continued to be held until today.

The local population in Miri has indeed started to extract oil from hand-dug wells for centuries. ''Song Huiyao Jigao'', a documentation of the Song dynasty of China, mentions the imports of Borneo camphor and petroleum in the 11th century. In 1882, Mr de Crespigny reported to the Brooke government on 18 hand-dug oil wells in the Miri area. He also recommended that area near Miri River should be thoroughly explored. However, his recommendations were ignored. But when Charles Hose took over the Resident office in 1891, he was interested in Mr de Crespigny's idea and began to collaborate with him. Mr de Crespigny began to map oil seeps around the Miri area, however a consultant geologist from England discouraged the oil exploration in Miri due to poor logistical conditions. After his retirement from administrative positions in Sarawak, Charles Hose went back to England. He later went to London to discuss the idea of oil exploration in Miri with the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company (later became a part of Royal Dutch Shell Company in 1907). Benjamin, a branch manager from the petroleum company, was interested in this idea. Finally in 1909, Rajah Charles Brooke came to London to sign the first Sarawak Oil Mining Lease. Royal Dutch Shell dispatched a senior geologist named Josef Theodor Erb together with Charles Hose back to Miri. Erb started to map Miri oil fields from August 1909 to July 1910. He also identified a location known as "Miri Hill" (now known as "Canada Hill", above sea level) is suitable to act as an anticline for oil drilling.

Finally, on 10 August 1910, the first oil drilling operation was started. A rig (nicknamed the "Grand Old Lady") made up of wooden derricks and cable tool drilling was used in the operation by Royal Dutch Shell. On 22 December 1910, oil was struck after of drilling at the well. Royal Dutch Shell also founded a subsidiary company named Sarawak Oil Field Ltd, which now operated as Sarawak Shell Berhad. Since then, another 624 land wells have been drilled around Miri until 1972 which are collectively known as the "Miri field". The Miri field is the only onshore field in Sarawak, because oil production has shifted offshore since the late 1950s. The first oil well on Canada Hill (Miri Well No. 1) produced a total of for the next 60 years until its closure on 31 October 1972. The first oil refinery and submarine pipeline was built in Miri in 1914. The oil refinery has since been relocated to Lutong, to the north of Miri, in 1916.

Resident Office moved from Marudi to Miri in 1912. Miri grew as fast as the rate of oil production by the Shell company. In 1920, roads were built in Miri. Bicycles and motorcycles were also bought into the town. By 1921, there were 40 shop houses in Miri, with one English school and one Chinese school. Motor cars were later introduced to the town. In 1924, Pujut Road was built to link Miri with Lutong. By 1925, rotary drilling was introduced. Oil production continued to increase until it reached a peak of per day in 1929. Water supply were improved, jungles were cleared, and more roads were built. Miri became the administrative centre of the entire Baram region in 1929.

Japanese occupation

The Brooke government had been actively lobbying for the British government to accept Sarawak as one of its protectorates in an event of a war. By 1888, the British finally agreed to grant the protection to Sarawak. The British dispatched several troops to Sarawak to strengthen its defences in the 1930s. By 1938, under the leadership of Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke, airstrips were constructed in Miri, Kuching, Oya, and Mukah in preparation for an imminent war. However, by 1941, British Royal Navy and Royal Air Force had withdrawn from Sarawak and returned to Singapore. Therefore, the British government advocated a "scorched earth policy" for the Brooke government in the event of a Japanese attack. A Denial Scheme was formulated to destroy oil installations in Miri and Lutong. This was because the coastline measuring from Lutong to Miri was impossible to defend from Japanese landings due to shortage of manpower. By May 1941, 1 Infantry Company from 2/15 Punjab Regiment, 6-inch Hong Kong-Singapore Royal Artillery Battery, and 1 Platoon of Royal Engineers were stationed at Miri to oversee the destruction of the Miri oil fields. In August 1941, an operation was carried out to reduce Miri oil output by 70%.

Soon after the news of Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese planes were seen making reconnaissance flights over Miri. The Brooke government decided on a complete destruction of oilfields and airfields in Miri. Shell company officials received orders to carry out the Denial Scheme on 8 December 1941. In the evening on the same day, the task was completed. All producing oil wells were sealed up with vital equipment and machinery dismantled and shipped off to Singapore. Skilled workers and important company papers also went along with the equipment and sent to Singapore. The Punjab Regiment and several officials were sent to guard Kuching. On 16 December 1941, 9 days after the Pearl Harbor bombing, Japanese troops consisting of 10,000 men landed on Tanjung Lobang Beach, Miri without much resistance. However, on 17 December 1941, a Dutch flying boat from Tarakan Island attacked the Japanese destroyer ''Shinonome'' (under the command of Hiroshi Sasagawa) off Miri. The ship was sunk along with the entire crew of 228. Another flying boat X-33 also damaged a Japanese transport ship. After the fall of Singapore on 15 January 1942, skilled workers that went into hiding with their equipment were sent back to Miri by the Japanese. They were immediately put to work for Japanese oil supply service company named Nen Ryo Hai Kyu. Much of the Japanese oil drilling and refinery equipment was portable. A total of were produced during the Japanese occupation from 1941 to 1945.

During the occupation, Miri and Lutong became a periodic subject of Allied air raids and bombings. Food, clothes, and medicine were scarce. Workers of the Japanese oil supply service were used to reconstruct and maintain Lutong Bridge and Lutong airstrip from Allied bombing damage.

Recent developments

Petronas, a Malaysian national oil and gas company, was formed in 1974. As a result, a concession system was changed into production sharing contract system (PSC) between Shell and Petronas. All the foreign oil companies including Shell required to obtain licenses from Petronas. The first two PSCs were signed on 30 November 1976. Foreign oil companies are required to keep not more than 41% of the oil produced until their original costs are recovered. After a return of their investments, the oil companies will keep 30% of the revenue after all operating costs and oil royalties are deducted. Petronas also formed a company named Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd which was directly involved in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas in the country. Petronas also initiated the Baram Delta Gas Gathering (Bardegg) project which involves the collection and compression of gas from five fields, namely Betty, Bekor, Baram, Baronia, and West Lutong, located offshore from Miri. This is to ensure the minimisation of gas loss during oil production. Petronas and Shell are also involved in educational outreach activities such as awarding scholarships to deserving students. Both companies are also involved in Malaysian first rig-to-reef project, in an effort to preserve bio-marine life in the sea offshore Miri. In this project, an abandoned offshore platform was made to become part of the Siwa reef. Both companies also started to establish Piasau Nature Reserve in 2014.

Miri Municipal Council has adopted the seahorse as the town's official symbol. It was proposed by the former Sarawak chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud and introduced as part of the "I love Miri campaign" in 1994. The seahorse is chosen because of its distinctive figure with gentle and graceful motion. These characteristics describe multiple ethnic and cultural identities of Miri which live in peace and harmony with good values of life. It also denotes the location of Miri town near to the sea and coral reefs and the city status as a resort paradise.

Miri was elevated to city status on 20 May 2005 and became Malaysia's tenth city. Miri is also the first town in Malaysia which is not a state capital to be granted city status. Miri City Day is celebrated each year on 20 May since it was declared by the past Chief Minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud. A time capsule containing news article of the day and a souvenir book was buried at Petroleum Science Museum at Canada Hill, Miri. The time capsule will be opened 100 years later on 20 May 2105. An effort has also been made to develop Miri as liveable resort city.

Governance

Miri City currently elects one member of parliament from the Miri parliamentary seat (P.219) into the Parliament of Malaysia. The city also elects 3 state assemblymen into the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly, namely Piasau, Pujut, and Senadin.

Local authority and city definition

Miri was formerly administered by the Miri Municipal Council for 24 years. It was upgraded to Miri City Council (MCC) on 20 May 2005, with Adam Yii Adam Yii Siew Sang as its current mayor, headquartered at Kinsgway Road, Miri. Area under the jurisdiction of MCC is . Miri lies within the boundary of the Miri District, which consists of Miri City, Sibuti sub-district, and Niah sub-district, with a total population of 290,274 and total area of . Miri Resident Office and Miri District Office are located at Kingsway Road, Miri City.

Geography

Miri is situated on the alluvial plain of the Miri River on the western shore of northern Sarawak on the island of Borneo. Because of the prevailing southerly off-shore current, beach drift has built up the Peninsula Road as a barrier beach between the Miri River and the shore causing a "Yazoo effect" where the river runs parallel to the coast before breaking through into the South China Sea. The city is predominately located on the inland (east) side of the Miri River with only a few scattered residential neighbourhoods, a Golf Club and a small airstrip on the Peninsula Road.

Climate

Miri has a tropical rainforest climate. There are two monsoon seasons: the southwest monsoon, which is the dry season from April to September, and the northeast monsoon, which is the wet season from October to March. The annual rainfall is around 250 to 380 cm (100 to 150 inches). The air temperature is between to the whole year round. But in rare occasions, temperature can reach down to to especially in the months of November, December and January. Lowest ever recorded is in December 2010 when the temperature dropped down to .

Demography

File:San Ching Temple.jpg, San Ching Tian Temple
File:Masjid Nur Hijrah - panoramio.jpg, Nur Hijrah Mosque

People from Miri are called "Mirians".

The growth of Miri population is shown below:

Ethnicity

According to the 2010 Malaysian census, Miri City has a total population of 234,541. Indigenous people form the largest ethnic group in the city (61.3%, 143,736) which consists of Iban (61,273), Malay (46,723), other indigenous tribes (24,119), Melanau (8,313), and Bidayuh (3,308). This is followed by Chinese (32.1%, 75,329), non-Malaysians (5.7%, 13,362) Indians (0.5%, 1134), and Others (0.4%, 980). The Malay people here consists mainly of Bakong, Daliek, Miriek, Bruneian and Kedayan people. Miri has 19 out of 27 Sarawak ethnic groups, including Berawan, Lakiput (often pronounce as Kiput), Kedayan, Lun Bawang, Kayan, Kenyah, and Kelabit people. Chinese in Miri mainly consist of the Foochow majority with significant populations of Hakka and Cantonese including a small number of Teochews and Hainanese. A majority of non-Malaysians in Miri are Kadazan and Bajau people from the working at Baram Delta as fishermen. There are also illegal Kadazan and Bajau people entering Miri using Pulau Tikus (near Baram Delta) as a transit point.

Languages

There is great diversity in terms of languages spoken in Miri, as it is a location where there are migrants from all over Sarawak, some West Malaysians, several foreigners, and several Eurasians. Among the main languages spoken here are Malay: which includes both the local variety of Malay, Sarawakian Malay or Bahasa Sarawak, and Standard Malay; Malaysian Mandarin, and Iban. The pronunciation and accent of spoken Malay differs depending on each individual's native language, background and history. English is generally well spoken by the older generation, many of whom received primary and secondary education in the 1960s, which then, was in English: a token of British colonialism; or who have worked in oil & gas related companies that operate in English, where they picked up English, Malay and Iban to varying levels of mastery. This is not the case for many younger Mirians, who generally were and are being educated in either Malay or Mandarin; most are capable of speaking basic English with grammar that is heavily influenced by either Malay or Mandarin. This, owing to the fact that the English language was reduced to a mere standalone subject after the 1980s. There is currently a minuscule minority of Miri-born Millennials and Generation Z members that speaks English as its first language, with varying levels of proficiency. The indigenous races speak their various languages as well, all of them Austronesian. These include languages such as Berawan, Lakiput (often called Kiput), Bruneian/Kedayan, Miriek, Iban, Bidayuh, Kayan, Kenyah, Lun Bawang and Kelabit. Meanwhile, the Chinese Malaysians speak Malaysian Mandarin, Hakka, Cantonese, Teochew, Hainanese, Hokkien and Foochow, in addition to possibly Henghua, a minority Chinese language in Malaysia. However, many Millennials and Generation Z members in Miri tend to use the lingua francas Malay and Malaysian Mandarin rather than their indigenous languages (such as Kayan and Kelabit) and Chinese dialects (Hokkien and Foochow); with the exception of Iban, which is widely used here; although certain efforts have been made in the past to promote the usage of indigenous languages among the younger generation.

Religion

Religions in Miri include Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Baháʼí Faith. Among the Christian churches, there are the Borneo Evangelical Church, Anglicanism, Methodism, Roman Catholics. Respective religious groups are free to hold processions in Miri city. Among notable religious places in Miri are: Tua Pek Kong Temple, Che Sing Khor Moral Uplifting Society, Lian Hua San Ching Tian Temple (莲花山三清殿, Taoist temple), St Joseph Cathedral (Roman Catholic), Hwai En Methodist Church, St Columba church (Anglican), Al-Taqwa Mosque, Al-Jamek Mosque, Sikh Temple, and Kamini Durga Eswari Amman Temple (Hinduism). Sarawak is predominantly Christian, in contrast with most of the Indonesian archipelago Muslim 207176162 (87.18%), Christian 16528513 (7), Catholic 6907873 (3), Hindu 4012116 (1.69), Buddhist 1703254 (0.72), Confucianism 117091 (0.05), Other 299617. This is also owing to the 2 previous Christian Revivals: the Bario Revival and the Ba’ Kelalan Revival that occurred between the 1960s and 1990s.

Economy

There are a few industrial areas in Miri, some examples include Kuala Baram Industrial Estate (Mixed, Light, and Medium Industries), Piasau Industrial Estate (Mixed Light Industries), Senadin Industrial Area, Eastwood Industrial Estate and Bekenu Light Industrial Area (food processing).

Miri mainly relies on its oil and gas industry, which contributes significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Sarawak. Sarawak Shell Berhad ( upstream business) and Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd have their offices based in Miri. Other multinational oil and gas companies also set up their offices here, including Nippon Oil, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Halliburton, Technip, Ranhill WorleyParsons, and Petra Resources Sdn Bhd. In 1989, Asam Paya Oilfield was discovered in Sarawak inland areas. In 2010, Petronas discovered two oil fields offshore between Bintulu and Miri. In 2011, new underground reserves of oil and gas deposits were discovered by Nippon Oil in an inland region near Miri, Sarawak.

In the 1970 to 1980s, timber exporting industry became one of the major income generators for Miri. Multinational conglomerates based in Miri such as Shin Yang and Samling had their early beginnings in timber industry. Besides, shipbuilding companies such as Sealink Shipyard, Shin Yang Shipping & Shipyard, Berjaya Dockyard, and Sarawak Slipways have their major shipyards set up in Miri - Kuala Baram industrial area along the Baram river.

First large-scale oil palm plantation in Sarawak began in 1968, in which the newly formed Sarawak Oil Palm Berhad (SOPB) planted a total of oil palm plantations near Miri by employing Indonesian workers at these plantations. Since the 1980s, SOPB has a total of of oil palm in Miri and Bintulu Divisions, generating a total revenue of RM 85 million in 2005. SOPB is now majority-owned by Shin Yang Group and Sarawak Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA) with its headquarters in Miri. By 2014, oil palm plantations between Miri-Bintulu zone constituted 60% of total oil palm estates in Sarawak.

Miri Port Authority (MPA) was established on 1 February 1981 and commenced operation on 1 March 1983. It is located near the mouth of Baram River. The port is able to take in ships measuring up to 1,500 GT (Gross Tonnage), with general cargo area of 50,895 m² and total developed area of 34 hectares (0.34 km²). It is mainly used in handling petroleum, timber products, coal, and building materials. A total of 23.94 million metric tonnes of goods was handled by MPA from 2011 to 2013, which earned a total revenue of RM 48.58 million in port dues.

Miri is a shopping destination for visitors coming from the neighbouring country of Brunei because of a discrepancy in currency exchange rate (100 Brunei dollar to 300 Malaysian ringgit), cheaper items, and a variety of resorts here in Miri for recreational activities. Bintang Plaza and Boulevard Shopping Mall are the two major shopping destinations for Brunei people. As of 2014, Miri visitor movement along Kuala Baram-Kuala Belait checkpoint (Sungai Tujoh