Mukah ( muːkəh), historically known as Muka, is a coastal town which has served as the capital and the administrative center of the Mukah Division since 1 March 2002. The

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 ...

also covers an area of with a population about 49,900 in the Mukah town and 18,800 in the Dalat administrative town of Dalat District. It is located on the

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

island, by the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

, about 2 hours by road from the city 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 ...

. Mukah is also accessible by air by MASwings from

Kuching Kuching ( , ), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak Ri ...

and

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 ...

. The duration of both flights is about one hour. There are also speed boats connecting the town of Dalat (about from Mukah) to Sibu. The speed boat trip takes approximately 2 hours.

Etymology

There are several versions of the origin of the name "Mukah". The word "Mukah" is similar to the Malay word "muka" which means face. It was said that the town was named after the face of a mysterious beautiful woman who helped three shipwreck merchants from

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

. Another version was that a beautiful face appeared on the surface on the sea to fishermen. However, these does not explain on why the town adopted a Malay name instead of a Melanau name as the majority of the population here are the

Melanau people Melanau ( Malay: ''Orang Melanau'', Melanau: ''Tenawan Melanau'') or ''A-Likou'' (meaning River people in Mukah dialect) is an ethnic group indigenous to Sarawak, Malaysia, and also present in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. They are among the ea ...

. The Melanau word for face is " jawai". Mukah town has statues of ''Ikan Merah'' ( Red Snapper) and ''Udang'' (

Prawn Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton An exoskeleton () . is a skeleton that is on the exterior of an animal in the form of hardened integument, which both supports the body's shape and protects the intern ...

) that reflect the importance of the fishery industry to the town.

History

The

is the earliest indigenous group living in Mukah. The earliest documentation of Mukah can be found in the annals of the

Majapahit Majapahit (; (eastern and central dialect) or (western dialect)), also known as Wilwatikta (; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia based on the island o ...

empire where a place known as "Melano" was paying tribute to the empire. Although this Mukah describe includes other Melanau areas along the coastline of Sarawak. The place then became part of the

Bruneian Empire Bruneian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Brunei * A person from Brunei, or of Bruneian descent. For information about the Bruneian people, see Demographics of Brunei and Culture of Brunei. For specific Bruneians, see List of Bruneians. ...

in the 13th century. Mukah was later sold to the

Raj of Sarawak The Raj of Sarawak, Kingdom of Sarawak or State of Sarawak, was a kingdom founded in 1841 in northwestern Borneo and was in a Protectorate, treaty of protection with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom from 1888. It ...

in 1860.

In November 1862, the Rajah Muda rescued several civilians from the

Moro Pirates The Sulu Sea, Sulu and Celebes Seas, a semi-enclosed sea area and porous region that covers an area of space around 1 million square kilometres, have been subject to illegal maritime activities since the pre-colonial era and continue to pose ...

after a pitched

naval battle Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. The armed forces branch designated for naval warfare is a navy. Naval operations can be broadly d ...

off the coast of Mukah. During the fighting, Brooke's steamer named ''Rainbow'' sank four prahus and damaged one other with cannon fire. Over 100 pirates were killed or wounded in the engagement while Brooke, the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Francis McDougall and their Sarawakian followers, were mostly unscathed.

Government

Mukah and Dalat District Office is the governing body of the Mukah and Dalat districts, including the towns. The district office was established in 1947 as Native Local Authority (NLA). The district office then expands it power to Dalat, Oya,

Balingian Balingian also known as Kuala Balingian is a town in Sarawak, Malaysia. It lies approximately east-north-east of the state capital Kuching. Etymology Baligian got its name from a river crossing the town. The river was once used by the local re ...

in 1981.

Geography

Mukah town is located at the mouth of the Mukah River. Mukah is located on

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

land that is still covered by peat swamp forests.

Climate

Mukah 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

In 2017, Mukah District had a projected population of 49,900.

Economy

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 ...

processing and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

are the two main economic activities in Mukah. Since 2008, Mukah is the economic centre of

Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy The Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE; Malay language, Malay: ) is an economic region and Economic corridor, development corridor covering central Sarawak, a Malaysian State on the island of Borneo. SCORE was launched in 2008. It is one ...

(SCORE). Press Metal Sdn Bhd built its first aluminium smelting plant in Mukah in 2009.

Transport

Air

In term of air connectivity, Mukah was served by

Mukah Airport Mukah Airport is an airport in Mukah, a town in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. History Old STOLport The old STOLport (Short Take-Off and Landing airport) was opened in 1960s and could only handle 67 passengers at one time. The STOLport was eq ...

(

STOLport A STOLport or STOLPORT was an airport designed with STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) operations in mind, usually for an aircraft class of a certain weight and size. The term "STOLport" did not appear to be in common usage as of 2008, although wa ...

) since the 1960s. Mukah Old STOLport airport was only able to accommodate an 18-seater Twin-Otter aircraft. The airport used to operate routes to Kuching and Miri. An effort has been made to upgrade the Mukah airport. On 17 June 2021, the new Mukah Airport was opened and began to its operation to replace the previous Mukah short-release and landing (STOLport) functions. The new airport can handle up to 264,000 passengers per year, as well as the new runway could indeed support turbine planes and helicopters.

Road

Mukah is linked to Selangau through the Mukah-Selangau road and to Bintulu through Mukah-Kuala Tatau road.

Buses

Bus express to Dalat, Sibu and Bintulu are available.

Local Bus or Bus Express remain unclear

Other facilities

Education

Mukah Polytechnic (PMU) is the 20th and the third polytechnic in

after Politeknik Kuching and Politeknik Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The PMU campus is built on a 100-acre site and is equipped with modern infrastructure and state of the art educational facilities. PMU's first operation began at Sibu Technical Secondary School in 2004. The first intake of students was in the July 2005 session with pilot courses such as Certificate in Information Technology, Certificate in Civil Engineering and Certificate in Business Studies. Course offerings increased a year later where Diploma level courses were also offered by all five major academic departments. Maktab Rendah Sains MARA Mukah (MRSM) was opened in 2010. It is a boarding school that provides good quality education for selected secondary school students. SMK St. Patrick, the oldest secondary school in Mukah town and division was established in 1905. SMK Three Rivers was established in 1961 to serve the education needs of the people living in the Mukah, Oya, and Balingian river basins. SMK Mukah was opened in 1999
UiTM Sarawak Mukah
campus was opened on 16 November 2015 in order to train enough manpower for

(SCORE). Its campus is located from the town centre. Among the courses offered are Pre Diploma (Commerce and Science), Diploma in Business Studies, Diploma in Banking Studies, Diploma in Herbal Production, Diploma in Aquaculture and Diploma in Plantation Management. Centre of Technical Excellence (CENTEXS) Mukah was opened in 2020 and began to operate in 2021. The completion of the campus itself making it the fifth CENTEXS campus to be built outside of Kuching after Lundu, Dalat, Lawas and Betong.

Future Developments

The proposed development project for Kolej Laila Taib (KLT) here commenced since 2017 and once completed, will add another institution of higher learning in Mukah. The KLT project is located adjacent to Politeknik Mukah (PMU), about one kilometre off Jalan Mukah-Oya, which is from town centre. Nearby PMU and the KLT project is Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Mukah Campus, away at the end of the same spur road. The site for the proposed Universiti Malaysia Sarawak's (Unimas) Excellent Research Centre project is also located within the same area at the same spur road, about 300m from PMU and KLT project. Meanwhile, the proposed Giat Mara project nearby the CENTEXS project is scheduled to complete by November 2021. Once completed, these projects are expected to propel this district to emerge as an education hub in the near future.

Declaration of Mukah Division

State Executive Council, the demarcation of the Sibu Division and

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 ...

Administrative areas to form the Mukah Division was effective on 1 March 2002. Regarding to this, the Mukah Division was declared as the Tenth (10) Division on 1 March 2002 by

the Most Honourable The honorific prefix "The Most Honourable" is a form of address that is used in several countries. In the United Kingdom, it precedes the name of a marquess or marchioness. Overview In Jamaica, Governor-General of Jamaica, Governors-General of J ...

Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud,

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

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 ...

. The recognition of Mukah as a Division has opened a new chapter in the administrative machinery of the state of Sarawak when it covers the entire coastal area in the central part of Sarawak. Thus, the declaration makes Mukah District as the administrative center and the capital of the division.

Culture and leisure

Lamin Dana cultural Lounge is located at Kampung Tellian. It is a place where the residents of the village showcase their traditional arts, crafts, and authentic Melanau food. A Melanau delicacy named ''Umai'' is one of the popular dishes in the town. It is a raw fish salad served with

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 ...

pellets.

is the staple food for the Melanau people. They usually takes sago together with fish,

Sambal Sambal is an Indonesian chili sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of chillis with secondary ingredients such as shrimp paste (terasi), garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. ''Sambal'' is an Indonesia ...

, and Ulam. Mukah Kaul festival is held annually at the third week of April. It was a traditional ritual by the Melanau people for thanksgiving and continuation of good fortune by appeasing the spirits of the sea, land, forests, and farms.

References

External links

Laman Web Rasmi Majlis Daerah Dalat & Mukah

Laman Web Rasmi Pejabat Daerah Mukah

Laman Web Rasmi Pejabat Residen MukahUiTM Sarawak Kampus Mukah

Mukah Polytechnic Website

Kaul Festival on STB website

Mukah Pictures
* Kaipulehone has written materials
RB1-002RB2-003
on Mukah, as well a
audio recordings
{{Authority control Mukah District Towns in Sarawak Fishing areas of the South China Sea