1.
Malaysia
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Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy located in Southeast Asia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government, with a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia, located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries on earth, with large numbers of endemic species. Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, the first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946, Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963 to become Malaysia, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, which plays a role in politics. About half the population is ethnically Malay, with minorities of Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indians. The constitution declares Islam the state religion while allowing freedom of religion for non-Muslims, the government system is closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system and the legal system is based on common law. The head of state is the king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and he is an elected monarch chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine Malay states every five years. The head of government is the prime minister, since its independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with its GDP growing at an average of 6. 5% per annum for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce. Today, Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, ranked third largest in Southeast Asia, the name Malaysia is a combination of the word Malay and the Latin-Greek suffix -sia/-σία. The word melayu in Malay may derive from the Tamil words malai and ur meaning mountain and city, land, malayadvipa was the word used by ancient Indian traders when referring to the Malay Peninsula. Whether or not it originated from these roots, the word melayu or mlayu may have used in early Malay/Javanese to mean to steadily accelerate or run. This term was applied to describe the current of the river Melayu in Sumatra. The name was adopted by the Melayu Kingdom that existed in the seventh century on Sumatra
2.
Sarawak
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Sarawak is one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. The capital city, Kuching, is the centre of the state. Other cities and towns in Sarawak include Miri, Sibu, as of the 2015 census, the total population of Sarawak is 2,636,000. Sarawak has a climate with tropical rainforests and abundant animal. It has several prominent cave systems at Gunung Mulu National Park, Rajang River is the longest river in Malaysia, Bakun Dam, one of the largest dams in Southeast Asia, is located on one of its tributaries, the Balui River. Mount Murud is the highest point in Sarawak, the earliest known human settlement in Sarawak, located at the Niah Caves, dates back to 40,000 years ago. A series of Chinese ceramics dated from the 8th to 13th century AD was uncovered at the site of Santubong. The coastal regions of Sarawak came under the influence of the Bruneian Empire in the 16th century, in 1839, James Brooke, a British explorer, arrived in Sarawak. He, and his descendants, governed the state from 1841 to 1946, during World War II, it was occupied by the Japanese for three years. After the war, the last White Rajah, Charles Vyner Brooke, ceded Sarawak to Britain, on 22 July 1963, Sarawak was granted self-government by the British and subsequently became one of the founding members of the Federation of Malaysia, established on 16 September 1963. However, the federation was opposed by Indonesia leading to a three-year confrontation, the creation of the Federation also resulted in a communist insurgency that lasted until 1990. The head of state is the Governor, also known as the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, Sarawak exhibits notable diversity in ethnicity, culture, and language, major ethnic groups in Sarawak are, Iban, Malay, Chinese, Melanau, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu. English and Malay are the two official languages of the state, there is no official religion. The Gawai Dayak is a festival celebrated on a public holiday. The official explanation of the word Sarawak is that it is derived from the Sarawak Malay word serawak, which means antimony. A popular alternative explanation is that it is a contraction of the four Malay words purportedly uttered by Pangeran Muda Hashim, Saya serah pada awak, James Brooke became the first of the White Rajah dynasty to govern Sarawak. Sarawak is nicknamed Land of the Hornbills and these birds are important cultural symbols for the Dayak people, representing the spirit of God. It is also believed if a hornbill is seen flying over residences
3.
Iban people
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The Ibans or Sea Dayaks are a branch of the Dayak peoples of Borneo. Most Ibans are located in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, Ibans were renowned for practicing headhunting and tribal/territorial expansion, and had a fearsome reputation as a strong and successful warring tribe in the past. The Iban population is concentrated in Sarawak, Brunei, and in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan and they traditionally live in longhouses called rumah panjai. Although Ibans generally speak various dialects which are mutually intelligible, they can be divided into different branches which are named after the areas where they reside. The majority of Ibans who live around the Lundu and Samarahan region are called Sebuyaus, Ibans who settled in areas in Serian district are called Remuns. They may be the earliest Iban group to migrate to Sarawak, Ibans who originated from Sri Aman area are called Balaus. Ibans who come from Betong, Saratok & parts of Sarikei are called Saribas, the original Iban Lubok Antu Ibans are classed by anthropologists as Ulu Ai/batang ai Ibans. Ibans from Undup are called Undup Ibans and their dialect is somewhat a cross between the Ulu Ai dialect & the Balau dialect. Ibans living in areas from Sarikei to Miri are called Rajang Ibans and this group is also known as Bilak Sedik Iban. They are the majority group of the Iban people and they can be found along the Rajang River, Sibu, Kapit, Belaga, Kanowit, Song, Sarikei, Bintangor, Bintulu and Miri. Their dialect is similar to the Ulu Ai or lubok antu dialect. In West Kalimantan, Iban people are more diverse. The Kantu, Air Tabun, Semberuang, Sebaru, Bugau and they can be related to the Iban either by the dialect they speak or their customs, rituals & their way of life. For hundreds of years, the ancestors of the Iban practiced animistic beliefs, although after the arrival of James Brooke, many were influenced by European missionaries, the longhouses of Iban Dayaks are constructed in such a way to act as an accommodation and a religious place of worship. The first thing to be erected during the building is the tiang pemun from which the pun ramu is determined and followed along the longhouse construction. Any subsequent rituals will refer to the tiang pemun and pun ramu, the supreme God is called Bunsu Petara, and is sometimes called Raja Entala or even Tuhan Allah Taala in modern times. The Iban calls this supreme god who creates the universe by the three names of Seragindi which makes the water, Seragindah which makes the land and Seragindit which makes the sky, there are seven main petaras of Iban Dayaks who act as the messengers between human beings and God. These deities are the children of Raja Jembu and the grandchildren of Raja Burong, Menjaya Manang as the god of health and shamanism being the first manang bali Anda Mara as the god of wealth and fortune
4.
Han Chinese
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The Han Chinese, Han people or simply Han are an ethnic group native to East Asia. They constitute approximately 92% of the population of China, 95% of Taiwan, 76% of Singapore, 23% of Malaysia, Han Chinese are the worlds largest ethnic group with over 1.3 billion people. Similarly, the Chinese language also came to be named the Han language ever since, in the Oxford Dictionary, the Han are defined as The dominant ethnic group in China. In the Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania, the Han are called the dominant population in China, as well as in Taiwan, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the Han are the Chinese peoples especially as distinguished from non-Chinese elements in the population. The name Hanzhong, in turn, was derived from the Han River, which flows through the regions plains. The river, in turn, derives its name from such as Tianhan, Yinhan, Xinghan or Yunhan, all ancient Chinese poetic nicknames for the Milky Way. This gave rise to a commonly used nowadays by overseas Chinese for ethnic identity – Huaren. The term is used in conversation and is also an element in the Cantonese word for Chinatown. The vast majority of Han Chinese – over 1.2 billion of them – live in areas under the jurisdiction of the Peoples Republic of China, where they constitute about 92% of its population. Han Chinese also constitute the majority in both of the administrative regions of the PRC—about 95% and 96% of the population of Hong Kong and Macau. There are over 22 million Han Chinese in Taiwan, they began migrating from the coastal provinces of mainland China to Taiwan during the 13th to 17th century. At first, these migrants chose to settle in locations that bore a resemblance to the areas they had left behind in mainland China, hoklo immigrants from Quanzhou settled in coastal regions, and those from Zhangzhou tended to gather on inland plains, while the Hakka inhabited hilly areas. Clashes between these groups over land, water, and cultural differences led to the relocation of some communities, of about 40 million overseas Chinese worldwide, nearly 30 million live in Southeast Asia. They are collectively called Nanyang Chinese, according to a population genetic study, Singapore is the country with the biggest proportion of Hans in Southeast Asia. Up until the past few decades, overseas Han communities originated predominantly from areas in southern China, christmas Island has a Chinese majority at 70%, large Chinese populations also live in Malaysia and Thailand. Prior to the 1965 split, Malaysia and Singapore used to have the largest overseas Chinese population in the world and this position has since been taken by Thailand. The prehistory of the Han ethnic group is closely intertwined with both records and mythology. Han Chinese trace their ancestry from a confederation of late neolithic/early bronze-age agricultural tribes that lived along the Guanzhong, the Yellow Emperor is traditionally credited to have united with the neighbouring Shennong tribes after defeating their leader, Flame Emperor, at the Battle of Banquan
5.
Brunei
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Brunei, officially the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace, is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea, the country is surrounded by the state of Sarawak. It is separated into two parts by the Sarawak district of Limbang, Brunei is the only sovereign state completely on the island of Borneo, the remainder of the islands territory is divided between the nations of Malaysia and Indonesia. Bruneis population was 408,786 in July 2012, the maritime state was visited by Spains Magellan Expedition in 1521 and fought against Spain in the 1578 Castille War. During the 19th century, the Bruneian Empire began to decline, the Sultanate ceded Sarawak to James Brooke and installed him as the White Rajah, and it ceded Sabah to the British North Borneo Chartered Company. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate and was assigned a British resident as colonial manager in 1906, after the Japanese occupation during World War II, in 1959 a new constitution was written. In 1962, an armed rebellion against the monarchy was ended with the help of the British. Brunei gained its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 January 1984, Economic growth during the 1990s and 2000s, with the GDP increasing 56% from 1999 to 2008, transformed Brunei into an industrialised country. It has developed wealth from petroleum and natural gas fields. Brunei has the second-highest Human Development Index among the Southeast Asian nations, after Singapore, according to the International Monetary Fund, Brunei is ranked fifth in the world by gross domestic product per capita at purchasing power parity. The IMF estimated in 2011 that Brunei was one of two countries with a debt at 0% of the national GDP. Forbes also ranks Brunei as the fifth-richest nation out of 182, based on its petroleum, according to legend, Brunei was founded by Awang Alak Betatar, later to be Sultan Muhammad Shah. He moved from Garang, a place in the Temburong District to the Brunei River estuary, according to legend, upon landing he exclaimed, Baru nah, from which the name Brunei was derived. He was the first Muslim ruler of Brunei, before the rise of the Bruneian Empire under the Muslim Bolkiah Dynasty, Brunei is believed to have been under Buddhist rulers. It was renamed Barunai in the 14th century, possibly influenced by the Sanskrit word varuṇ, the word Borneo is of the same origin. In the countrys name, Negara Brunei Darussalam, darussalam means abode of peace. The people are pagans and are men of goodwill and their colour is whiter than that of the other sort. in this island justice is well administered. One of the earliest Chinese records is the 977 AD letter to Chinese emperor from the ruler of Po-ni, which some scholars believe to refer to Borneo
6.
Rattan
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Rattan is the name for roughly 600 species of old world climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. Rattan is also known as manila, or malacca, named after the ports of shipment Manila and Malacca City, the climbing habit is associated with the characteristics of its flexible woody stem, derived typically from a secondary growth, makes rattan a liana rather than a true wood. Calamoideae also includes tree palms such as Raphia and Metroxylon and shrub palms such as Salacca and they dont have spinose stems and climb by means of their reflexed terminal leaflets. Of these only Desmoncus spp. furnish stems of sufficiently good quality to be used as rattan cane substitutes, there are 13 different genera of rattans that include around 600 species. The largest rattan genus is Calamus, distributed in Asia except for one species represented in Africa, the rattan genera and their distribution, In Uhl & Dransfield, and also Dransfield & Manokaran, a great deal of basic introductory information is available. Available rattan floras and monographs by region, Uses by taxon, rattans are also superficially similar to bamboo. Unlike bamboo, rattan stems are solid, and most species need structural support, many rattans have spines which act as hooks to aid climbing over other plants, and to deter herbivores. Rattans have been known to grow up to hundreds of metres long, most of the worlds rattan population exist in Indonesia, distributed among the islands Borneo, Sulawesi, and Sumbawa. The rest of the supply comes from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Malaysia. In forests where rattan grows, its value can help protect forest land, by providing an alternative to loggers who forgo timber logging. Rattan is much easier to harvest, requires simpler tools and is easier to transport. It also grows faster than most tropical wood. This makes it a tool in forest maintenance, since it provides a profitable crop that depends on rather than replaces trees. It remains to be seen whether rattan can be as profitable or useful as the alternatives, rattans are threatened with overexploitation, as harvesters are cutting stems too young and reducing their ability to resprout. Unsustainable harvesting of rattan can lead to forest degradation, affecting overall forest ecosystem services, the use of toxic chemicals and petrol in the processing of rattan affects soil, air and water resources, and also ultimately peoples health. Meanwhile, the method of rattan production is threatening the plants long-term supply. Generally, raw rattan is processed into products to be used as materials in furniture making. The various species of rattan range from millimetres up to 5–7 cm in diameter
7.
Black pepper
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Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. When dried, the fruit is known as a peppercorn, when fresh and fully mature, it is approximately 5 millimetres in diameter, dark red, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed. Peppercorns, and the ground pepper derived from them, may be described simply as pepper, or more precisely as black pepper, green pepper, black pepper is native to south India and is extensively cultivated there and elsewhere in tropical regions. Currently, Vietnam is the worlds largest producer and exporter of pepper, dried ground pepper has been used since antiquity for both its flavour and as a traditional medicine. Black pepper is the worlds most traded spice and it is one of the most common spices added to cuisines around the world. The spiciness of black pepper is due to the chemical piperine, black pepper is ubiquitous in the modern world as a seasoning and is often paired with salt. The word pepper has its roots in the Tamil word for long pepper, todays pepper derives from the Old English pipor. and from Latin which was the source of Romanian piper, Italian pepe, Dutch peper, German Pfeffer, French poivre, and other similar forms. In the 16th century, pepper started referring to the unrelated New World chili pepper as well, Pepper was used in a figurative sense to mean spirit or energy at least as far back as the 1840s, in the early 20th century, this was shortened to pep. Black pepper is produced from the still-green, unripe drupes of the pepper plant. The drupes are cooked briefly in hot water, both to them and to prepare them for drying, the heat ruptures cell walls in the pepper. The drupes are dried in the sun or by machine for several days, during which the pepper around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, once dried, the spice is called black peppercorn. On some estates, the berries are separated from the stem by hand, once the peppercorns are dried, pepper spirit and oil can be extracted from the berries by crushing them. Pepper spirit is used in medicinal and beauty products. Pepper oil is used as an ayurvedic massage oil and used in certain beauty. White pepper consists solely of the seed of the pepper plant and this is usually accomplished by a process known as retting, where fully ripe red pepper berries are soaked in water for about a week, during which the flesh of the pepper softens and decomposes. Rubbing then removes what remains of the fruit, and the seed is dried. Sometimes alternative processes are used for removing the outer pepper from the seed, ground white pepper is used in Chinese and Thai cuisine, but also in salads, cream sauces, light-coloured sauces, and mashed potatoes. White pepper has a different flavour from black pepper, it lacks certain compounds present in the layer of the drupe
8.
Border checkpoint
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A border checkpoint is a place, generally between two countries, where travelers or goods are inspected. Authorization often is required to enter a country through its borders, access-controlled borders often have a limited number of checkpoints where they can be crossed without legal sanctions. Arrangements or treaties may be formed to allow or mandate less restrained crossings, land border checkpoints can be contrasted with the customs and immigration facilities at seaports, international airports, and other ports of entry. Checkpoints generally serve two purposes, To prevent entrance of individuals who are either undesirable or are simply unauthorized to enter, to prevent entrance of goods that are illegal or subject to restriction, or to collect tariffs. Checkpoints are usually manned by a uniformed service, in some countries, there are border checkpoints when both entering and exiting the country, while in others, there are border checkpoints only when entering the country
9.
History of Sarawak
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History of Sarawak can be traced as far as 40,000 years ago paleolithic period where the earliest evidence of human settlements is found in the Niah caves. A series of Chinese ceramics dated from 8th to 13th century AD was uncovered at the site of Santubong. The coastal regions of Sarawak came under the influence of the Bruneian Empire in the 16th century, in 1839, James Brooke, a British explorer, first arrived in Sarawak. Sarawak was later governed by the Brooke family between 1841 and 1946, during World War II, it was occupied by the Japanese for three years. After the war, the last White Rajah, Charles Vyner Brooke, ceded Sarawak to Britain, on 22 July 1963, Sarawak was granted self-government by the British. Following this, it one of the founding members of the Federation of Malaysia. However, the federation was opposed by Indonesia, and this led to the three-year Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, from 1960 to 1990, Sarawak experienced a communist insurgency. The first foragers visited the West Mouth of Niah Caves 40,000 years ago when Borneo was connected to the mainland of Southeast Asia, the landscape around the Niah Caves was drier and more exposed than it is now. Prehistorically, the Niah Caves were surrounded by a combination of closed forests with bush, parkland, swamps, the foragers were able to survive in the rainforest through hunting, fishing, and gathering molluscs and edible plants. The skull probably belongs to a 16-to 17-year-old adolescent girl, mesolithic and Neolithic burial sites have also been found. The area around the Niah Caves has been designated the Niah National Park, another earlier excavation by Tom Harrisson in 1949 unearthed a series of Chinese ceramics at Santubong that date to the Tang and the Song dynasties in the 8th to 13th century AD. It is possible that Santubong was an important seaport in Sarawak during the period, but its importance declined during the Yuan dynasty, other archaeological sites in Sarawak can be found inside the Kapit, Song, Serian, and Bau districts. During the 16th century, the Kuching area was known to Portuguese cartographers as Cerava, much of Sarawak was part of the Bruneian Empire. For a short period of time it was self-governed under the Sultan of Bruneis younger brother, by the early 19th century, Sarawak had become a loosely governed territory under the control of the Brunei Sultanate. The Bruneian Empire had authority only along the regions of Sarawak held by semi-independent Malay leaders. Meanwhile, the interior of Sarawak suffered from tribal wars fought by Iban, Kayan, and Kenyah peoples, following the discovery of antimony ore in the Kuching region, Pangeran Indera Mahkota began to develop the territory between 1824 and 1830. When antimony production increased, the Brunei Sultanate demanded higher taxes from Sarawak, in 1839, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II, ordered his uncle Pangeran Muda Hashim to restore order. Pangeran Muda Hashim requested the assistance of British sailor James Brooke in the matter, however, in 1841 during his next visit to Sarawak in 1841 he agreed to a repeated request
10.
Kuching
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Kuching /ˈkuːtʃɪŋ/, 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, Kuching was the third capital of Sarawak in 1827 during the administration of the Bruneian Empire. The town continued to receive attention and development during the rule of Charles Brooke such as the construction of a system, hospital, prison, fort. In 1941, the Brooke administration had a Centenary Celebration in Kuching, during World War II, Kuching was occupied by Japanese forces from 1942 to 1945. The Japanese government set up a Batu Lintang camp near Kuching to hold prisoners of war, after the war, the town survived intact. However, the last Rajah of Sarawak, Sir Charles Vyner Brooke decided to cede Sarawak as part of British Crown Colony in 1946, Kuching remained as capital during the Crown Colony period. After the formation of Malaysia in 1963, Kuching retained its status as capital and was granted city status in 1988. Since then, the Kuching city is divided into two administrative regions managed by two local authorities. The administrative centre of Sarawak state government is located at Wisma Bapa Malaysia, Kuching is a major food destination for tourists and the main gateway for travellers visiting Sarawak and Borneo. The city has one of the major industrial and commercial centres in East Malaysia. The name of Kuching was already in use for the city by the time Brooke arrived in 1841, there are many theories as to the derivation of the word Kuching. It was perhaps derived from the Malay word for cat, kucing or from Cochin, an Indian trading port on the Malabar Coast, some Hindu artefacts can be seen today at the Sarawak State Museum. However, another source reported that the Kuching city was known as Sarawak before the Brooke arrived. The settlement was renamed to Sarawak proper during the kingdom expansion and it was only in 1872 that Charles Brooke renamed the settlement to Kuching. There was one unlikely theory based on a story on miscommunication, according to the story, James Brooke arrived in Kuching on his yacht Royalist. He then asked his local guide about the name of the town, the local guide thinking that James Brooke was pointing towards a cat, and said the word Kuching. However, ethnic Malays in Sarawak usually refer the name of a cat as pusak instead of the Malay word kucing, some source also stated that it was derived from a fruit called mata kucing, a fruit that grows widely in Malaysia and Indonesia. There was also a hill in the city that was named after the fruit, which is called Bukit Mata Kuching
