Kuching
(2000 pop. 496,000). Kuching is today the capital city of Sarawak, Malaysia's largest state, situated on the island of Borneo. Pangiran Mahkota, a nobleman of Brunei and governor of Sarawak in the 1830s, founded the city. Pangiran Mahkota was in Kuching during the arrival of James Brooke (1803–1863), the first White Rajah of Sarawak. Kuching was formerly known as Sarawak, as it was located in the valley of the Sarawak River. The river, town, and country shared the appellation Sarawak until 1872. It is a common practice among the natives of Sarawak to name places and people after the river that flows there. Its name was changed to Kuching, after the name of a rivulet that flowed at the east end of the town before joining the Sarawak River, by Charles Brooke in 1872. The name, which means "cat" in the Malay language, is said to derive from a lychee-like fruit tree, called mata kuching (Nephelium nalarense) that grew on the hill opposite the stream that ran there. Some sources say that the name originated from the Chinese word gu chin which means "harbor."
Kuching has a long history as a trading center, primarily for antimony (which in the Malay language is known as serawak) and jungle produce. Currently timber and petroleum are its main resources. Since 1963, when Sarawak became part of the Federation of Malaysia, Kuching has changed and developed into a modern city.
Further Reading
Alice Yen Ho. (1998) Images of Asia: Old Kuching. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Oxford University Press.
Pollard, Elizabeth. (1972) Kuching Past and Present. Kuching, Malaysia: Borneo Literature Bureau.
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