Raj of Sarawak in the context of "Public infrastructure"

Sarawak (/səˈrɑːwɒk/ sə-RAH-wok, Malay: [saˈrawaʔ]) is a 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 bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, Kalimantan (the Indonesian portion of Borneo) to the south, and Brunei in the north. The state capital, Kuching, is the largest city in Sarawak, the economic centre of the state, and the seat of the Sarawak state government. Other cities and towns in Sarawak include Miri, Sibu, and Bintulu. As of 2020 Malaysia census, the population of Sarawak was 2.453 million. Sarawak has an equatorial climate with tropical rainforests and abundant animal and plant species. It has several prominent cave systems at Gunung Mulu National Park. Rajang River is the longest river in Malaysia; Bakun Dam, one of the largest dams in Southeast Asia, is located on one of its tributaries, the Balui River. Mount Murud is the highest point in the state. Sarawak is the only state of Malaysia with a Christian majority.

The earliest known human settlement in Sarawak at the Niah Caves dates back 40,000 years. A series of Chinese ceramics dated from the 8th to 13th century AD was uncovered at the archaeological site of Santubong. The coastal regions of Sarawak came under the influence of the Bruneian Empire in the 16th century. In 1839, James Brooke, a British explorer, arrived in Sarawak. He, and his descendants, governed the state from 1841 to 1946. During World War II, it was occupied by the Japanese for three years. After the war, the last White Rajah, Charles Vyner Brooke, ceded Sarawak to Britain, and in 1946 it became a British Crown Colony. On 22 July 1963, Sarawak was granted self-government by the British and subsequently became one of the founding members of Malaysia, established on 16 September 1963. However, the federation was opposed by Indonesia, leading to a three-year confrontation. The creation of Malaysia also prompted a communist insurgency that lasted until 1990.

British Borneo comprised the four northern parts of the island of Borneo, which are now the country of Brunei, two Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Malaysian federal territory of Labuan. During the British colonial rule before World War II, Sarawak was known as the Raj of Sarawak (1841–1946), Sabah was known as North Borneo (1881–1946), and Labuan was known as the Crown Colony of Labuan (1848–1946). Between World War II and their independence from Britain, Sarawak became the Crown Colony of Sarawak (1946–1963) whereas Sabah and Labuan combined to form the Crown Colony of North Borneo (1946–1963). The Kingdom of Brunei (1888/1906–1984) was a protectorate of the United Kingdom since the 1888/1906 Protectorate Agreement, and was known as British Protectorate State of Brunei.

James Brooke KCB (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 Rajah of Sarawak from 1841 until his death in 1868.

Brooke was born and raised in India during the rule of the British East India Company. After a few years of education in England, he served in the Bengal Army, was wounded, and resigned his commission. He then bought a ship and sailed to the Malay Archipelago where, in gratitude for helping to crush a rebellion, he was rewarded by the Sultan of Brunei with the position of governor of Sarawak. He then vigorously suppressed piracy in the region and, in the ensuing turmoil, restored the sultan to his throne, for which Brooke was made the rajah of Sarawak. He ruled until his death.

Before the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific, the island of Borneo was divided into five territories. Four of the territories were in the north and under British control – Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, an island, and British North Borneo; while the remainder, and bulk, of the island, was under the jurisdiction of the Dutch East Indies.

On 16 December 1941, Japanese forces landed at Miri, Sarawak having sailed from Cam Ranh Bay in French Indochina. On 1 January 1942, the Japanese navy landed unopposed in Labuan. Another small Japanese forces took possession of the undefended Labuan on 3 January, where they advance further and landed at Mempakul on North Borneo territory. After negotiations as to the surrender of Jesselton with the Officers-in-charge of Jesselton and waiting for troop reinforcements, Jesselton was occupied by the Japanese on 6 January through Japanese forces who entered by rail from Beaufort. However, it took the Japanese until the end of the month to conquer the entire territory of British Borneo. The Japanese subsequently renamed the northern part as North Borneo (北ボルネオ, Kita Boruneo), Labuan as Maida Island (前田島, Maeda-shima) and the neighbouring Dutch territories as South Borneo (南ボルネオ, Minami Boruneo). For the first time in modern history all of Borneo was under a single rule.

The White Rajahs of Sarawak were a hereditary monarchy of the Brooke family, who founded and ruled the Raj of Sarawak as a sovereign state, located on the northwest coast of the island of Borneo in Maritime Southeast Asia, from 1841 to 1946. Of British origin, the first ruler, James Brooke was granted the province of Kuching – which was known as Sarawak Asal (Original Sarawak) – by the Sultanate of Brunei for helping fight piracy and insurgency among the indigenous peoples in 1841 and received independent kingdom status.

Based on descent through the male line in accordance with the will of James Brooke, the White Rajahs' dynasty continued through Brooke's nephew and grandnephew, the latter of whom ceded his rights over Sarawak to the United Kingdom in 1946, which was made a Crown colony. His nephew had been the legal heir to the throne and objected to the cession, as did most of the Sarawak members of the Council Negri.

Charles Vyner Brooke, (full name Charles Vyner de Windt Brooke, 26 September 1874 – 9 May 1963) was the third and last White Rajah of the Raj of Sarawak.