Sibu Division is one of the twelve administrative divisions 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 ...

. It has a total area of 8,278.3 square kilometres, and is the third largest division after Kapit Division and Miri Division. The population of Sibu Division (year 2000 census) was 257,300. Ethnically, the population was mostly Iban, Chinese, Malay, and

Melanau Melanau (Malaysian language, Malay: ''Orang Melanau'', Melanau language, 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 Kaliman ...

. Sibu Division consists of three districts:

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 ...

Kanowit Kanowit ( Malay: ''Pekan Kanowit'') is a town and the capital of Kanowit District, Sibu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, comprising 2,253.5 square kilometres. As of 2010, Kanowit's population is 28,985. It is built on the mouth of Kanowit River ...

, and Selangau. The economy is largely based on timber extraction from the extensive

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests with high rainfall typically found between 10° north and south of the Equator. They are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28° latitudes (in the torrid zo ...

. Processed wood products, rather than log export has been given priority by the government. Agriculture is relatively minor, with

oil palm ''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms, called oil palms, containing two species, native to Africa and the Americas. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. Description Mature palms are single-stemmed, and can gro ...

and pepper the main products. Tourism, particularly

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

, is a growing component of the economy. The two major rivers in the Sibu Division are 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 ...

and the Igan River.

Early history

Before 1 June 1873, Sibu was known as "Maling", named after the winding portion, Tanjung Maling, on the other side of Rejang River. Maling was a small village with a few small and simple shop houses consisted of atap roof and wooden walls and floors. Main population was Malay and Chinese was minority. In 1841 "Sarawak" (the present

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 ...

- Sarawak capital) was ruled by 'White Rajah',

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 ...

. On 1 June 1873, the third division was created and the division was named after the native Rambutan because the division had a lot of native Rambutan known as "Buah Sibau" in Iban language. In 1901 Wong Nai Siong led the first batch of Foochows from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

to Sibu to open up the fertile lands of Sibu for cultivation, a massive opening up of Sibu. Therefore, it was a landmark year or a milestone in the history of the development of Sibu. Wong Nai Siong came to Singapore in September 1899. From there, he proceeded to West Malaysia,

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

and the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

. For six months he explored the places but failed to find a suitable place for the immigration and settlement of his folks in China. In April 1900, Wong came to Sarawak and got the approval of the Sarawak Rajah to look for a suitable site for Chinese immigrants. Wong explored the lower valley and upper reaches of the Rejang River. He soon discovered that the Rejang Delta was very fertile and particularly suitable for cultivation. He decided to choose the area for opening up for cultivation. With that decision, Wong went to see the second Rajah of Sarawak, Rajah Charles Brooke, for discussions regarding the matter of opening up of land for cultivation. In those days of the Rajahs, Sarawak was sparsely populated with vast land yet to be developed, Wong's plan was timely and very much appreciated. When Wong went to see Sir Charles Brooke and explained to him his plan to lead large groups of Foochows to open up Sibu for cultivation, the Rajah immediately agreed. Both parties signed an agreement. The Chinese immigrants came in three batches. The first batch consisted of 72 people, the second batch 535, and the third batch 511, totalling 1118 people. Of the total, 130 brought their spouses and families, while the others were bachelors. After working in Sibu, nearly all the immigrants chose to settle down and made Sibu their new home. They were happy to settle down for a brighter future in Sibu.

Administration

Members of Parliament

References

External links

Sibu Online
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