Bintangor, Sarawak
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bintangor (formerly known as ''Binatang'') is a town, and the capital of the
Meradong District The Meradong District is located in Sarikei Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The capital of Meradong District is Bintangor, Sarawak. The official census in 2006 stated Meradong as covering 719 sq km, making it the smallest district of Sarawak ...
in
Sarikei Division Sarikei Division is one of the twelve administrative divisions in Sarawak, Malaysia. Formerly part of the Third Division, which included Sibu and Kapit, Sarikei Division has a total area of , and is the second smallest of the administrative div ...
, of
Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. Situated along the
Rejang River The Rajang River () is a river in Sarawak, northwestern 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 in Borneo and ...
, Bintangor was an express boat services hub connecting between,
Sarikei Sarikei is a town, and the capital of Sarikei District in Sarikei Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is located on the Rajang River, near where the river empties into the South China Sea. The district population (year 2010 census) was 56,798. The ...
town and
Sibu Sibu is a landlocked city located in the central region of Sarawak, Malaysia. It serves as the capital of Sibu District within Sibu Division and is situated on the island of Borneo. Covering an area of , the city is positioned at the conf ...
city in the 1970s up to the early 1990s. As road connections between these towns became a more prominent mode of transport, the waterway of the town died down. The town is widely known for its gastronomy, including the "Limau Bintangor" or Bintangor lime, "Bintangor Kampua" and Rojak Bintangor, a dish of fruit and vegetable dish mixed together by special sauce dressing. The nearest city from the town is
Sibu Sibu is a landlocked city located in the central region of Sarawak, Malaysia. It serves as the capital of Sibu District within Sibu Division and is situated on the island of Borneo. Covering an area of , the city is positioned at the conf ...
, 45 minutes drive via the Highway 6308.


Etymology

Meradong District The Meradong District is located in Sarikei Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The capital of Meradong District is Bintangor, Sarawak. The official census in 2006 stated Meradong as covering 719 sq km, making it the smallest district of Sarawak ...
was initially named as Binatang district and the town as Binatang town. In Malay language, ''Binatang'' literally translated as "animal". It was said that this area was once a fertile land with various wild fruits; attracting animals to gather here and search for food. Therefore, the early settlers named it Binatang. According to Ptolemy's Geography book written circa 150 AD, a location at the northwest tip of Borneo was described as Theriodes which means "animal" in Greek which tallies with Sanskrit "Tiryagja" and Malay "Binatang", presently still the name of a town near the mouth of the Rejang River. However, the local people later felt that the name was indecent and it was changed to ''Bintang'' (meaning "stars" in Malay). After a few years, the local authorities decided that the place name should not be changed so easily; and they reverted the name back to ''Binatang''.Yii, 2010. Page 228 Finally, in 1984, after a discussion with district council members, Sarawak chief minister
Abdul Taib Mahmud Abdul Taib bin Mahmud (; 21 May 1936 – 21 February 2024) was a Malaysian politician who served as the seventh Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak from 2014 to 2024 and the fourth Chief Minister of Sarawak from 1981 to 2014. He is referred to a ...
decided to change "Binatang" district into "Meradong" district and the town name to "Bintangor".Yii, 2010. Page 228 The name Meradong is derived from the river of the same name, which passes through the town before merging into the larger
Rajang River The Rajang River () is a river in Sarawak, northwestern 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 in Borneo and th ...
. The name Bintangor is derived from the name of a tree which is found on the hills. The Calanolide A compound extracted from the Bintangor tree (''Calophyllum lanigerum'') is believed to be a vital component to treat HIV infection.


History

In 1853,
James Brooke James Brooke (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 Rajahs, White Rajah of Sarawak from 1841 until his death in 1868. Brooke was born and ra ...
was able to take over
Rajang River The Rajang River () is a river in Sarawak, northwestern 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 in Borneo and th ...
and its surrounding settlements from the Brunei Sultanate. Before the 1900s, the population in Bintangor was sparse. In 1896, the Malays from Second Division (now
Betong Division Betong Division, formed on 26 March 2002, is one of the twelve administrative divisions in Sarawak, Malaysia. Formerly part of Sri Aman Division, Betong is in the Saribas area. It has a total area of 4,180.8 square kilometres, and is the smalle ...
and
Sri Aman Division Sri Aman Division is one of the twelve administrative divisions in Sarawak, Malaysia. Formerly part of the Second Division, which included Betong, Sri Aman Division has a total area of 5,466.7 square kilometres. It was formerly known as Simang ...
) migrated here and established a settlement with villages of a dozen of houses near the riverside. The remaining areas were covered by forests at this point.Yii, 2010. Page 230 The Malays later moved away but was then requested by Rajah Brooke stay in the southern part of Bintangor so as to protect the early Chinese settlers against other natives in the region. People from
Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (, ) is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and (with Quanzhou) surrounding the prefecture of Xiamen. Nam ...
and
Xiamen Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...
were the first Chinese settlers in Bintangor. There was a documentation whereby a Chinese named Huang Zhi Yun (黄志云) bought a land in Bintangor in 1908. In 1910, Ling Ming Lok (林明乐) started planting vegetables in Bintangor. He found that the area was suitable for large-scale cultivation due to sparse population and large tracts of land. Therefore, Ming Lok together with Tiong Kung Ping and Rev Yao Siew King with the encouragement from Rev James Hoover, decided to open up Bintangor for agriculture. In 1917, Ming Lok invited the Chinese from the nearby settlement of
Sibu Sibu is a landlocked city located in the central region of Sarawak, Malaysia. It serves as the capital of Sibu District within Sibu Division and is situated on the island of Borneo. Covering an area of , the city is positioned at the conf ...
to come to Bintangor.Yii, 2010. Page 239 They applied more lands from the Sibu Resident and his requests were granted.Yii, 2010. Page 229 As a result, large tracts of agricultural lands were opened for 300
Fuzhounese The Fuzhou language ( zh, t=福州話, s=福州话, p=Fúzhōuhuà; Foochow Romanized, FR: ), also Foochow, Hokchew, Hok-chiu, or Fuzhounese, is the Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige variety of the Eastern Min branch of Min Chinese spoken ...
families. In 1922, Fuzhounese Chinese opened the first grocery shop in Bintangor.Yii, 2010. Page 231 Kai Nguong Church is the first Methodist church in Bintangor. In the same year, Kai Wen primary school (开文小学) was set up.Yii, 2010. Page 231 In 1923, the Brooke government established the "FooChow Land reclamation and Guidance Council" to manage issues regarding the opening up of lands and disputes among the Chinese land owners.Yii, 2010. Page 229 At first, there was only a few tailor shops, barber shops, and coffeeshops. The Chinese expanded their businesses to forestry, rice mill, and ice production. Bintangor had more than a dozen wooden shophouses by 1937; however, they were all razed to the ground by fire that same year. They were later relocated to another location. There were 24 shophouses by 1948. By 2010, this number had reached 47.Yii, 2010. Page 231,234 More schools such as Min Zhi primary school (民智小学) and Min Lu primary school (民鲁小学) were built later.Yii, 2010. Page 233 Rubber plantations started to appear after 1922.Yii, 2010. Page 231 However, in 1929, the price of rubber was collapsing. The Brooke government started to employ Chinese workers to build roads to solve the unemployment problems due to fall in rubber price. In 1933, rubber price recovered. As of 2010, Bintangor had 10,000
acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
s of rubber plantations, producing 5,000
picul The picul , shi (), dan or tam, is a traditional Asian unit of weight, defined as "as much as a man can carry on a shoulder-pole". Throughout most of Chinese history, it was defined as equivalent to 120 catties. Some later definitions (Briti ...
s every month.Yii, 2010. Page 233


Government

Binatang district council was set up in the 1947. The chairman of the council was rotated between the Chinese, Malay, and Iban people. In 1997, Binatang district council was divided into Meradong district council and Julau district council.Yii, 2010. Pages 229, 236 Bintangor is the capital of the
Meradong District The Meradong District is located in Sarikei Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The capital of Meradong District is Bintangor, Sarawak. The official census in 2006 stated Meradong as covering 719 sq km, making it the smallest district of Sarawak ...
in the
Sarikei Division Sarikei Division is one of the twelve administrative divisions in Sarawak, Malaysia. Formerly part of the Third Division, which included Sibu and Kapit, Sarikei Division has a total area of , and is the second smallest of the administrative div ...
.


Geography

The Meradong district is located at 78 km from the mouth of the
Rajang River The Rajang River () is a river in Sarawak, northwestern 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 in Borneo and th ...
.Yii, 2010. Page 229 Meanwhile, the Bintangor town is located between the mouths of Bintangor river and Meradong river, with an area of 1.63 km2.Yii, 2010. Page 230 The northern part of the Meradong district is swampy with many small tributaries into the Rajang river. Majority of the Malays and the
Iban people The Iban are an indigenous ethnic group native to Borneo, primarily found in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, Brunei and parts of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. They are one of the largest groups among the broader Dayak peoples, a term historically ...
are staying in this area, with boats as their main form of transportation. Their major economic activities are agriculture and fishing. Meanwhile, the southern part of the Meradong district are mostly hilly. Most of the Chinese are staying in the southern area where they cultivate
black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter ...
and
cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
.Yii, 2010. Page 229


Climate

Bintangor has a
tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest 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 southeast Florida, United States ...
(Af) with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.


Demographics

File:Christ the King Church Bintangor.jpg, Christ The King Catholic church File:Darul Taqwa mosque Bintangor.jpg, Darul Taqwa mosque The Chinese (mostly
Fuzhounese The Fuzhou language ( zh, t=福州話, s=福州话, p=Fúzhōuhuà; Foochow Romanized, FR: ), also Foochow, Hokchew, Hok-chiu, or Fuzhounese, is the Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige variety of the Eastern Min branch of Min Chinese spoken ...
), Malays, and Iban people forms the majority of the ethnic groups in the Bintangor town.Yii, 2010. Page 229 In 1922, there were 300 people staying in Bintangor. This number increased to 2,000 people in 1930, followed by 4,000 people in 1940, and 9,000 people in 1950.Yii, 2010. Page 234, 235 Majority of the Chinese people in Bintangor are Christians.Yii, 2010. Page 235


Economy

In 1927, Catholic missionary from
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
named Father Bergh first introduced lime to Bintangor. Ling Ming Lok was the first person who successfully cultivated the lime near the Rajang river.Yii, 2010. Page 239 Mass production of lime with unique taste has earned the town the nickname "lime town" (桔子城).Yii, 2010. Page 239 There was once a factory in Bintangor which produced the "Green Mountain" brand of lime beverages, but with the competition from the outside branded soft-drink manufacturers, the factory was closed down. Rice mills and
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 ...
mills operations were the main economic activities at that time. Besides, Bintangor also cultivated honey pomelo.


Transport

During the early days, there were only
footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as Motor vehicle, motorized vehicles, bicycles and horseback, horses. They ...
s in the town. After that, local people dig up drains along the footpath.Yii, 2010. Page 231 Water was popular form of transport when there were no proper roads in Bintangor. Taking express boats between Sibu and Sarikei was four hours, meanwhile, it only takes one and a half-hour to reach Bintangor from Sarikei.Yii, 2010. Page 234 The express boats carries passengers, rubber sheets, baskets of fresh fruits, and other agricultural products to Sibu while bringing canned food, beer, bottled drinks, and other sundry goods back to Bintangor. The once busy Bintangor wharf became irrelevant after road connections become more advanced in the 1980s. There are several bridges in Bintangor: Nyelong bridge and the Red Bridge. It takes 35 minutes to drive from
Sibu Sibu is a landlocked city located in the central region of Sarawak, Malaysia. It serves as the capital of Sibu District within Sibu Division and is situated on the island of Borneo. Covering an area of , the city is positioned at the conf ...
to Bintangor through the Lanang Bridge.


Local Bus


Other utilities


Education

Opened in 1922 above a drug store shophouse, Kai Wen primary school (开文小学) is the first school in Bintangor. At first, there were six pupils, which slowly increased to 20 pupils.Yii, 2010. Page 242 In 1946, the school was combined with school named China primary school (中国小学) to form Kai Chung school (开中学校). In 1982, the number of pupils totaled at 1,280.Yii, 2010. Page 255 In 1986, the school was officially separated into primary and secondary schools.Yii, 2010. Page 254 Another primary school established in Bintangor is the Abang Amin school. Established in 1935, and named after an influential Malay leader in charge of peace in the area by the Brooke administration, Abang Amin Bin Abang Bujang.KAJIAN SEJARAH SEKOLAH : SK ABANG AMIN, BINTANGOR, SARAWAK.
/ref> Built by communal work by the people in the area after his death and to commemorate his services to the community, the school started with 40 pupils on the first year of its founding. In 1938, the school moved location to the current location to accommodate larger number of pupils. In 1973, the school is incorporated into the government school system, turning it into a full-fledged national primary school. Currently, Bintangor town has four secondary schools, SMK Meradong, SMK Bandar Bintangor, Kai Chung Secondary School and SMK Tong Hua. There are also 32 primary schools, of which 18 are national schools (SK) and 14 are national type schools (SJK(c)). Malaysian Teachers Education Institute (Malay: Institut Pendidikan Guru Malaysia) Rajang Campus is also situated at about 17 kilometres from Bintangor town.


Healthcare


Culture and leisure

File:Bintangor recreation park 1.jpg, Bintangor recreational park File:Bintangor community hall.jpg, Bintangor community hall File:The Bintangor Bazaar.jpg, The Bintangor market


Cuisine

Notable foods in the town are Tumpik Bintangor and Rojak Bintangor. Tumpik Bintangor is a type of pizza made by sago. Rojak Bintangor is made of cucumber, soya, waterchestnuts mixed with prawn paste.


References


Notes


External links

{{Sarawak Meradong District Towns in Sarawak