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Brief histories of the
first clubs of each geographic regions or countries
Rotary Club of KUCHING,
the First Club of Sarawak (now a state of
Malaysia)
Rotary International
District 3310
Part of our
History of Rotary in Asia
Section
Sarawak in Brief
"The Land of the Hornbill"
The eastern seaboard of Borneo had been charted (though never settled) by the Portuguese in the early 16th century.
Sarawak had been a loosely governed territory under the control of the Brunei Sultanate in the early
19th century, although in the early 17th century Sarawak had her own, the first and the last Sultan, Sultan Tengah.
It was during a time around 1839 when the local Dayak people were waging war
against the Sultan of Brunei, that a young Indian born Englishman named
James Brooke arrived in Sarawak and negotiated a peaceful settlement between
the warring parties.
 In 1841, Brooke was bestowed the title Governor and effectively became the Rajah of Sarawak
on 18 August 1842, so beginning a 100 year dynasty of the "White Rajahs" of Sarawak. Upon his death in 1868, the title passed to his nephew Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke, and after
his death in 1917, to his son, Charles Vyner Brooke.
The Brooke dynasty ruled Sarawak for a hundred years and became famous as
the "White Rajahs", accorded a status within the British Empire similar to that of the rulers of Indian
princely states. In contrast to many other areas of the empire, however, the Brooke family was intent on a policy of
paternalism to protect the indigenous population against exploitation.
They governed with the aid of the Muslim Malay and enlisted the Ibans and other "Dayak"
as a contingent militia. They also encouraged the immigration of Chinese merchants but forbade the Chinese to settle outside
of towns in order to minimize the impact on the Dayak way of life.
In the local language, "Kuching" literally means "cat".
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The following information was extracted from a Powerpoint presentation
by PDG Datuk George
Anthony Ginibun at
the “20th Pan Borneo Meet” held in Kuching, Sarawak in May 2007.
In 1934, efforts were
made to introduce Rotary to the State of Sarawak. The obvious choice was
Kuching, it being the capital of Sarawak.
On the 10th
of June, 1936, Rotary Club of Kuching was finally chartered, with Harold
McMillan Calvert presiding as it’s first paramount.
The Charter Certificate
was only handed over to PP H.M. Calvert by IPDG Allan Eley on the 30th of
July, 1938 at the banquet at the residence of The Honorable Rtn. Ong Tiang
Swee.
65 distinguish guests
were present headed by the Officer Administering the Government and his wife
Mrs. E.D. Parnell.
Mr. E. W. Howell had the
distinguish honor of being the first local Sarawakian to be elected
President, serving Rotary Club of Kuching from 1947 to 1948.
Other Sarawak notables
whom had led the club with distinction were
1). The late Tan Sri Datuk
Amar (Dr) Ong Kee Hui,
Past President of the Rotary Club of Kuching 1950 - 1951;
Founder
& Former Chairman Sarawak United People’s Party; Former Federal Minister
of Science, Technology & Environment in the Malaysian Cabinet.
2). His
Excellency, the Hon. Datuk Stephen Timothy Wan Ullok, PDG 1998 - 1999;
First Orang Ulu
President; Former Vice President, PBB Sarawak; Former Senator
It must be noted here
that since 1995, two prominent Rotarians from the “Land of the Hornbills,”
had assumed the high office of District 3310, and they are -
1). His
Excellency, PDG Datuk Stephen Wan, Ullok, 1998/1999
2). His
Excellency, YBhg PDG Abang Nawawi bin Abang Drahman, 2001/2002
There
are
11 Rotary Clubs in Sarawak and the independent nation of Brunei. The
Rotary Club of Kuching had 34 members as at May 2007.
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