Marudi is a town in the
Malaysian state 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 ...
, and is a part of the division of
Miri
Miri () is a coastal city in north-eastern 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 ...
. It is the seat of
Marudi District, and is located on the banks of
Baram River, about upstream from the river mouth. Marudi was the administrative centre of the northern region of Sarawak before
Miri
Miri () is a coastal city in north-eastern 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 ...
was established in 1910. Marudi is considered as the cultural heart of the
Orang Ulu
Orang Ulu ("people of the interior" in Malay) is an ethnic designation politically coined to group together roughly 27 very small but ethnically diverse tribal groups in northeastern Sarawak, Malaysia with populations ranging from less than 30 ...
, the highland tribes of Sarawak. It is also a transit gateway to
Kelabit Highlands
The Kelabit Highlands are a mountain range located in the northernmost part of Sarawak, Malaysia in the Miri Division. It hosts the Bario village. The highest mountains in this range are Mount Murud at , Bukit Batu Buli at , and Bukit Batu Lawi at ...
and
Gunung Mulu National Park
The Gunung Mulu National Park, also known simply as the Mulu National Park is a national park in Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that encompasses caves and Karst topography, karst formations in a mountainous ...
, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
.
History
Up until 1882, the Baram area was ruled by the
Sultan of Brunei. By that time, the Sultan was having a lot of trouble keeping these vicious tribes in the Baram region under control with their ongoing feuds and bloodletting. Towards the end of the 1800s, the conflicts and the growth of tribal territories had gotten dangerously near to his capital, endangering his personal safety. In this about domain, the Sultan's power had never previously been used. The Malays never traveled into the interior of Baram out of dread of the Kayan tribe's fury.
Since of this, the Sultan was willing to give up control of the region when
Rajah Brooke extended his rule into the higher regions of Baram in exchange for a one-time payment of six thousand dollars annually, which the
Foreign Office
Foreign may refer to:
Government
* Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries
** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government
** Foreign office and foreign minister
* United ...
in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
approved since they thought it was a reasonable price for the transfer.
By 1883, the
Sultan of Brunei (
Abdul Momin) ceded the Baram region (including Miri) to Charles Brooke.
The fourth division of Sarawak was immediately created with the installation of Mamerto George Gueritz as the first Resident of the Division. A fort was built in at Marudi, to the east of Miri.
The area was then named Claudetown in honour of Claude Champion de Crespigny, Resident of the Third Division when he died in 1884, and it became the administrative centre of the division. The administration was helped by two junior officers, 30 rangers, and a few native police.
Charles Hose became Resident of Baram District in 1891 and the fort in Marudi was renamed Fort Hose. As a result of his concerns about his people' savage practices,
Charles Brooke resolved to put a stop to the
headhunting
Headhunting is the practice of hunting a human and collecting the severed head after killing the victim. More portable body parts (such as ear, nose, or scalp) can be taken as trophies, instead. Headhunting was practiced in historic times ...
and
blood feuds permanently. He organised a competition amongst all the tribes and started
cockfighting
Cockfighting is a blood sport involving domesticated roosters as the combatants. The first documented use of the word gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or entertainment, was recorded in 1634, after the term ...
among them, but the losing tribes didn't take it well, and further fighting broke out. Boat-racing was chosen instead, and Resident Charles Hose designated Marudi as the venue for a
regatta
Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wa ...
.
In 1895 and 1896, the Brooke administration organised an expedition to
Usun Apau Plieran to punish the
Kenyah people
The Kenyah people are an indigenous, Austronesian languages, Austronesian-speaking people of Borneo, living in interior North Kalimantan, North and East Kalimantan, Indonesia and Sarawak, Malaysia.
Culture and economy
The Kenyah people, ...
(including the Badeng people, a sub-tribe of Kenyahs) living there, who were alleged to have been responsible for the deaths of a Malay, a Chinese trader, and several
Iban people. In October 1896, Saba Irang, the headman of the Badeng people, came to Claudetown to seek refuge and make peace with the Brooke administration. Hose decided to organise a peace conference at his fort in April 1899 to “encourage the Madang (Badeng) to be loyal subjects and to ensure a friendly recognition by them by the Baram people".
The conference was attended by 6,000 people.
This peace conference also led to creation of the Baram Regatta, a long boat race competition among the natives that continues to be held in the present day.
Administration
The town is the administrative centre of
Marudi District, a
district
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
in the
Miri Division of Sarawak, governed by Marudi District Council, which encompasses the districts of Marudi and Mulu, and small portions of the districts are under
Miri City Council such as
Ba'kelalan.
Transportation
Land
It was officially announced on 13 October 2017, that the road project that connects Miri with Marudi is far ahead of its initial 30-month timeline for completion. The road upgrade was supposed to be 12.53% finished by 25 September, however it is already 30.80% finished, or 18.27% ahead of schedule. The road link's poor state and increasing significance prompted the public to express great interest in its improvement, which started on 15 September 2016. The roads that connect Miri and Marudi passes through
plantations, and occasionally have just one lane.
The Marudi bridge, which has the length of 740 meters, costing RM116.5 million, commenced construction on 20 October 2022 and has been completed on 18 October 2024, which officially opened on 10 November 2024.
Air
Marudi is served by
Marudi Airport
Marudi Airport is an airport in Marudi, Sarawak, Marudi, Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia.
It has a 10/28 runway and its aircraft parking bay can handle three to four de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter at the same time.
Airlines and destinatio ...
(MUR) which is in the town.
De Havilland Canada DHC-6s of
MASwings fly to Miri up to nine times daily and serve
Bario
Bario is a community of 13 to 16 villages located on the Kelabit Highlands in Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, lying at an altitude of 1000 m (3280 ft) above sea level. It is located close to the Sarawak-Kalimantan border, 178 k ...
,
Long Banga,
Long Lellang,
Long Akah and
Long Seridan. The airport is a 10-minute () walk east from the centre. The airport and town center are only a short distance apart, a well-constructed
pedestrian walkway runs beside the major route into town.
Water
According to SRB statistics, 66,174 passengers passed through the Marudi express boat passenger terminals in total in 2013. However, five years later, in 2018, there were just 3,171 passengers documented, and in 2021, there were none at all. In March 2021, the final express boat service was discontinued. Express boat services were reinstated in 2022 for Marudi and Sungai Tutoh, Baram, to give the locals there more transportation alternatives.
In 2023, the
crocodile
Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...
population in Marudi enjoys intimidating and terrifying its human neighbors, particularly those who reside in riverfront settlements, given the decreased number of boats that travel the Baram River. Residents depend on these watercraft to get around when they resided in Baram. Back then, the river had once been packed with express vessels,
sampans, and various other water vessels, and how it is now much quieter, which may be the reason why more crocodiles have been observed within villages, especially
longhouses
A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America.
Many were built from timber and often re ...
.
Geography
Climate
Marudi 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 ...
with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.
Infrastructure

The majority of the structures in Marudi's
grid-planned town center are multi-story
shophouses. This is a typical example of
urban planning
Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...
in Malaysia prior to the emphasis moving to more dispersed
suburban
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
projects.
The town has its own
fire station
__NOTOC__
A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire apparatus, fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equ ...
.
Education
The Chung Hua School was initially founded in 1926, originally within the temple's grounds. In 1926, the primary school welcomed its first students. With only fifteen students, the first headmaster was Goh Jing Chew, and the sessions were initially held in the rear of the tealple. The first wooden building atop a hill was finished in 1936. The wooden structure was destroyed in 1973 due to damage, and a new structure was built in its place. Sim Kheng Hong graced the inauguration ceremony on 4 November 1973.
Places of interest
Fort Hose, a wooden fort built during the
Brooke administration, is situated near the town center and directly off the road that leads from the airstrip to the town center. The fort's construction was finished in 1891, and it stood until a fire destroyed it in 1994. The building that is seen now is a renovated model that debuted in 1997. Charles Hose is honoured by the fort's name. Today, the Baram District Museum is located within the fort. The location overlooks the
Baram River.
Marudi Tua Pek Kong is situated within Marudi's commercial center. The temple has weathered three big fire catastrophes in the town's history without any damage. Back then, Chinese businessmen arrived in Southeast Asia to do business, they erected a temple dedicated to
Tua Pek Kong. This would be their regular meeting spot going forward. The Baram River is just next to the temple. The lone Chinese temple in Marudi was constructed in 1891. Though relatively tiny in comparison to other Chinese temples in the area, the temple remains an essential component of the town.
The Marudi Market is one among the sites along Jalan Kampung Cina. In the morning, the market is generally bustling with activity.
The ground floor is home to the neighborhood market. On the first level, there is a food court as well. The majority of the shops provide a variety of rice and noodle meals, coffee, and tea.
According to Datu Dr. Penguang Manggil, the Marudi Waterfront expansion project and the first stage of a planned three-star hotel should be finished by 2025. The Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) will construct an RM35 million, 90-room hotel on the site of the former Marudi Rest House. The present waterfront, which was overflowing at the most recent Baram Regatta 2023, will be gradually extended to , making it one of the longest in the state. The
esplanade
An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...
expansion and slope protection would cost around RM35 million each, according to the Department of Irrigation and Drainage.
Baram Ragatta
When Charles Brooke selected Marudi as the administrative hub for Sarawak's northern district after racial unrest in Baram, the town was then known as Claude Town. The locals enthusiastically embraced the offer made by the then-resident, Charles Hose, to hold a boat race between all the rival races in order to put an end to the carnage. In 1899, the Baram Regatta was initiated as a means of promoting peace among the many tribes. The event drew in over 6,000 participants from Baram, including Ibans, Kenyahs, Kayans, Narums,
Melanaus, Malays, and Madangs. Since that point, the regatta has grown to be a yearly occasion that attracts visitors of all ethnicities from Baram and other places.
Gallery
File:Marudi Landmark (Baram Regatta Statue).jpg, Baram Regatta Statue
File:Marudi Tua Pek Gong Temple.jpg, Marudi Tua Pek Kong
File:Dewan marudi.jpg, Marudi Lecture Hall
File:Marudi Express Wharf Terminal.jpg, Marudi Wharf Terminal
File:The Marudi Airport terminal building, Sarawak.jpg, Marudi Airport
References
External links
{{Authority control
Marudi District
Towns in Sarawak