Ethnic Diversity

About 30 per cent of Sarawak's population is Iban, another 30 per cent is Chinese, 20 per cent is Malay, and the remaining 20 per cent is made up of other various tribal groups (1). Sarawak is home to 27 distinct indigenous ethnic groups, which speak 45 different languages and dialects. These groups include the Bidayuh, Melanau, Kenyah, Kayan, Kedayan, Murut, Bisayah, Kelabit, Berawan and the nomadic Penan (2). The indigenous groups are collectively known as the Orang Ulu ("people of the headwaters").

There isn't enough space here to discuss all of Sarawak's ethnic groups, but here's a bit more information on three of them:

The Iban

The Iban are shifting cultivators who originated in the Kapuas River basin of West Kalimantan, and migrated to Sarawak in the 16th century, settling along the Batang Lupar, Skrang and Saribas rivers. They were once the most feared of the headhunting tribes - skulls were seen as symbols of bravery and manhood, and were a testimony to the unity of a longhouse. Today many Iban have moved to coastal towns to work in the timber and oil industries, although a good number still remain in their traditional longhouses (3). The Iban generally live near the coast, and thus aren't usually considered part of the Orang Ulu.

The Penan

The Penan are nomadic hunter-gatherers who live mainly in the upper Rejang area and in Limbang. The Malaysian government has been trying for a long time to get the Penan to sedentarize, but has had only partial success in attracting them to longhouses. Most are now semi-nomadic. Part of the year they still move throughout the forest hunting wild pigs, birds and monkeys, and searching for sago palms to make sago flour, which is their staple food. The rest of the year they farm near their longhouses. Only around 300 - 400 Penan remain entirely nomadic. Other tribes regard the Penan as the supreme jungle experts.

The Chinese

Long before the British set foot on Borneo, Chinese gold-miners had already settled in Sarawak. Cantonese, Hokkien and Teochew merchants were also doing business in Kuching. In the 1880s, Rajah Charles Brooke allowed the immigration of many Chinese, even providing subsidies for them during their first year. Many of the immigrants settled in coastal towns such as Sibu, and ran farms and rubber smallholdings. The Chinese set up their own private schools, and many sent their children to Christian missionary schools. They thus became a prosperous, educated elite, some becoming middlemen, traders, shopkeepers, and timber towkays (magnates). Today, The Chinese make up almost a third of Sarawak's population (5). Together with the ethnic Malay, they make up most of the population of the coastal cities.

Biological Diversity

Sarawak is rich in biodiversity - it belongs to one of the twelve world mega biodiversity regions. Its rainforest houses 185 mammalian species, 530 bird species, over 10 000 insect species, and over 8000 plant species (6). Because of the many hornbill species in Sarawak, the state is also known as "Bumi Kenyalang" or the "Land of the Hornbills". The state bird is the Rhinoceros Hornbill, which is depicted on the state crest. Sarawak is also home to the world's largest flower, the Rafflesia, which can grow up to three feet in diameter and twenty-eight pounds in weight (7).

Virtually all of Sarawak used to be covered in rainforest, and most of it still is today. However, virtually all forest has been logged over at least once, and only around 5% or so is still primary forest. But such primary forests have an amazing biological diversity. Typically, one square mile of such forest has more different tree species than all the species in Europe or North America.

Many of the plants in the Sarawak rainforest are also highly valued for their medicinal properties, the most notable example being the bintangor tree. The Dayaks use the poisonous latex that oozes from its trunk for stunning fish, and make poultices from its bark to soothe headaches and skin rashes. Besides these functions, the tree also harbors a hidden treasure: tests carried out in the United States suggest that the bintangor may contain a treatment for HIV and AIDS. Clinical trials show that a drug called Calanolide A, extracted from the tree's latex, reduces the levels of the AIDS virus in the blood. The drug is several years away from being sold commercially, but if it is - and if it is as profitable as other anti-HIV drugs - it could earn as much as 350 million US dollars a year (8).

Continue to Part 4 - Current Issues: Logging

Return to Part 2 - The Brooke Era

1. Eliot, p. 311.
2. "People of Sarawak". SarawakTourism.com. 24 Feb 2002.
3. Eliot, p. 312.
5. Eliot, p. 312.
6. Sarawak Biodiversity Center. 1999. 18 Nov 2001.
7. Davis, Wade; Mackenzie, Ian & Kennedy, Shane. Nomads of the Dawn. The Penan of the Borneo Rainforest. California: Pomegranate Artbooks, 1995, p. 88.
8. Parry, Richard Lloyd. The Hunt for Bruno Manser. Independent on Sunday (London). 23 Sept 2001.