| Sibu | |
|---|---|
| — Town — | |
| Chinese transcription(s) | |
| • Traditional | 詩巫 |
| • Simplified | 诗巫 |
| • Pinyin | |
| Nickname(s): The Swan City / New Fuzhou | |
|
Sibu
|
|
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Malaysia |
| State | Sarawak |
| Division | Sibu Division |
| District | Sibu District |
| Government | |
| • Type | Local government |
| • Chairman | Yang Berhormat (Y.B.) Datuk Tiong Thai King |
| Area | |
| • Sibu | 8,278.3 km2 (3,196.3 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1 m (3 ft) |
| Population (2010)[1] | |
| • Sibu | 257,800 |
| • Density | 116/km2 (300.4/sq mi) |
| Time zone | MST (UTC+8) |
| • Summer (DST) | Not observed (UTC+8) |
| Postal code | 96xxx |
| National calling code | +6084 (local landline only) |
| License plate prefix | QSx (for all vehicles except taxis) HQ (for taxis only) |
| Website | Sibu Official Website Sibu Municipal Council |
Sibu ( /ˈsiːbuː/) is an inland town, and the capital of Sibu District (229.8 square kilometres) in Sibu Division, Sarawak, east Malaysia. It is located at the confluence of the Rajang and Igan Rivers, some 60 kilometres from the ocean and approximately 183.3 kilometres (114 mi) east-north-east of the state capital Kuching.[2] The population is dominated by Chinese especially the Fuzhou as well as indigenous Melanau, Malay, and Iban. The town population (year 2010) is 257,800.
Sibu is the main tourist gateway to the Upper Rajang River, with its small riverine towns and its many Iban and Orang Ulu longhouses.[3]
There is no known adjective for the people from Sibu, although there have been many unofficial suggestions: Siburian, Sibuian, Sibunite, Sibu-yan - none is officially recognised.
There has been a marked increase in public buildings in recent years. Sibu now boasts the largest town square in Malaysia,[3] and the tallest building in Sarawak - the Sanyan Tower (三洋大厦，"Wisma Sanyan" in the official Malay language), a newly refurbished waterfront and a large number of public parks. Sibu also has university-level courses offered by Laila Taib College (previously known as United College Sarawak), which has built a campus on the site of the old Sibu airport.In 2010,Sarawak Government had announced that Sibu will have its own Sarawak Islamic Complex Building,the second in the state after Kuching.
Sibu Jaya, located 25 km away, is being developed as a satellite town. Sibu Airport, built during World War II, was relocated to its present site 23 kilometres from town near Sibu Jaya in 1994.
Before 1 June 1873, Sibu was known as "Maling", named after the winding portion, "Tanjung Maling", on the other side of Rajang River. Maling was a small village with a few small and simple shop houses with atap roofs and wooden walls and floors. The main population was Malay; and Chinese were in a minority.
In 1841 "Sarawak" (the present Kuching - Sarawak Capital) was ruled by 'White Rajah', James Brooke. On 1 June 1873, the third division was created and the division was named after the native rambutan fruit because the division had a lot of native rambutan known as "Buah Sibau" in the Iban language.
In 1901 Pastor Wong Nai Siong (Huang Naishang) led the first batch of Foochow Christians from China to Sibu to open up the fertile lands of Sibu for cultivation, a massive opening up of Sibu. This was a landmark year in the history of the development of Sibu.
Pastor Wong Nai Siong came to Singapore in September 1899. From there, he proceeded to West Malaysia, Sumatra and the Dutch East Indies. 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, Mr. Wong Nai Siong came to Sarawak and got the approval of the Sarawak Rajah to look for a suitable site for Chinese immigrants.
Pastor Wong explored the lower valley and upper reaches of the Rajang River. He soon discovered that the Rajang Delta was very fertile and particularly suitable for cultivation. So he decided to choose the area for opening up for cultivation. With that decision, Mr. 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, Pastor Wong's plan was timely and very much appreciated.
So, when Pastor Wong Nai Siong 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.[4]
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.
There used to be a Sibu Fort, which was built by Rajah Brooke in 1862. The fort was located at Race Course Road, however it no longer exists now. It was common for the White Rajah to build such forts to stake his territorial claim as well as means of protection.
The existence of Sibu Fort is proven by historical writings:
| “ | ...There is a fort in Sibu, as indeed there is at most of the river places in Sarawak. The fort at Sibu was close to the Resident Dr. Hose's house and was attacked by Dayaks only a few years ago. Johnson, one of Dr. Hose's assistants, showed me a very long Dayak canoe capable of seating over one hundred men...
The river at Sibu was of great width, over a mile across, in fact, and close to the bank is a Malay village, and a bazaar where the wily Chinaman does a thriving trade in the wild produce of the country, and makes huge profits out of the Dayaks and other natives on this river.[5] |
” |
Rosli Dhoby, a Sarawakian nationalist, is one of the more illustrious sons of Sibu. He is well-known for his assassination of Sir Duncan George Stewart, the second governor of colonial Sarawak in 1948. He was then sentenced to death by hanging and was buried at the Kuching Central Prison in 1950. After 46 years of his remains resting in the prison compound, it was moved out from the Kuching Central Prison and buried at the Sarawak's Heroes Mausoleum near Sibu Town Mosque on 2 March 1996.
In order to honour his involvement in the anti-colonial movement and his struggle against the British, he and his associates who were involved in the assassination (Awang Ramli Amit, Bujang Suntong, and Morshidi Sidek) were later given a full state funeral by Sarawak Government.
The population of Sibu experienced a slower growth rate compared to other towns and cities in Malaysia. There are many reasons resulting in a decline in the Sibu population.
However, the real numbers of people living today in Sibu is much higher due to high numbers of individuals not being counted in the census who live and work in other cities and countries.[6]
| Year | 1970 | 1980 | 1991 | 2000 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total population |
50,635 | 85,231 | 133,471 | 166,322 | 209,616 | 257,800 |
The Sibu town has been the stronghold of the ruling Sarawak Barisan Nasional for many years. The Barisan Nasional in Sibu is usually represented by SUPP while DAP is the usual opponent to the Barisan Nasional. Recently, PKR would like to negotiate the allocations of state constituencies in Sibu with DAP in order to face the upcoming Sarawak state elections. The Sarawak Barisan Nasional is currently controlling 1 out of 2 parliamentary seats and 2 out of 5 state seats.
The Sibu town is represented in the House of Representatives of the Malaysian Parliament by 2 parliamentary constituencies (Lanang and Sibu) where Lanang parliamentary seat is further divided into Bukit Assek and Dudong seats for Sarawak state legislative assembly. On the other hand, the Sibu parliamentary constituency is divided into Bawang Assan, Pelawan, and Nangka state constituencies.[7] Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew was the Sibu member of parliament and the deputy transport minister in the Malaysian cabinet. On 9 April 2010, he passed away due to liver cancer. On 16 May 2010, a by-election is held and DAP candidate Wong Ho Leng, who is also the state assemblyman for Bukit Assek, won the by-election and become the new Member of Parliament for Sibu.
The opposition won the Sibu parliamentary seat in 1982 and Lanang seat in 1990 with a slim majority. The Bukit Assek and Pelawan state constituencies fell into the hands of opposition in 1996 state election. In 2006 state election, the opposition regained the Bukit Assek state constituency. Wong Ho Leng, the state assemblyman for Bukit Assek, is the chairman of Sarawak DAP. On 2010 Sibu by-election, DAP candidate Wong Ho Leng won the parliamentary seat for Sibu with a majority of 398.
The current chairman of Sibu Municipal Council is Tiong Thai King who is also the Lanang member of parliament. He was appointed municipal chairman in 2004. However, the deputy chairman, Daniel Ngieng Kiong Ann lost his Bukit Assek constituency to DAP in 2006 Sarawak state election. The councillors are normally chosen by the state government. The Sibu Municipal Council is responsible for improving the quality of life of Sibu community by active and effective local administration. Some of the roles assumed by the municipal council includes facilities management, regular roads and drain services, effective traffic control, maintenance of street lightning, public health and vector control, licensing, building plans processing and grass cutting services.
The United Chinese Association (UCA)(华团) Sibu holds its pride for hosting the 18th and the 26th National Chinese Cultural Festival. The cultural festival has always been officiated by the prime minister of Malaysia. Cultural village and the Lantern Riddles are among the activities organised during the festival.
Sibu played host to the Borneo Cultural Festival, a week-long celebration of food, music, and dances celebrating the diverse cultural background of the town in 2005. Since then, it has become an annual occasion and a trademark of Sibu.However,for the first time ever since the creation,it will not be held in 2011;which caused waves of protests from locals,including key players in Sibu Tourism Industry.However,Sibu Municipal Council announced that this year BCF is postponed to next year,after discussion with State Government.
In order to promote itself to tourists and for branding purpose, Sibu Municipal Council under the former Chairmanship of Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew, adopted the swan as the symbol of Sibu town. According to the Sibu Chinese community, when the early immigrants arrived in Sibu in the mid 19th century and early 20th century, the present Rajang River reminded them of Swan River in Fuzhou, China. However, due to the fact that such a bird is non-existent in the town (except for the numerous huge artificial swan statues) or anywhere in Malaysia, the majority of the Sibu community, especially the natives, feel that such a choice is too artificial and does not invoke any special or deep feeling toward the so-called "Symbol of Sibu".
Year 2009 was declared as 'Visit Sibu Year 2009', to boost the tourism industry in the central region. A new attraction is Pandaw River Cruise, which was started on 1 July 2009. This is a nine-day cruising up the Rajang river deep into the Pelagus Rapids Resort in the rural interior of Sarawak with Sibu Express Wharf Terminal as the first stop. The tourists in the cruise can enjoy the scenery of the tropical rainforest as well as visiting traditional and modern longhouses.[8]
However,starting from March 2012,the river cruise will cease its operation due to poor respond and also high operating costs.
Sibu features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The Sibu town has warm summers with average high temperatures of 30–31 °C (86–88 °F) and lows of around 23 °C (73 °F). Precipitation is generally moderate throughout the year with an annual total of roughly 2430 mm.
| Climate data for Sibu | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 30 (86) |
31 (88) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
31 (88) |
32 (89.0) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23.3 (73.9) |
| Precipitation cm (inches) | 28.1 (11.06) |
18.8 (7.4) |
20.99 (8.264) |
20.47 (8.059) |
18.77 (7.39) |
15.25 (6.004) |
12.63 (4.972) |
15.47 (6.091) |
19.6 (7.72) |
22.65 (8.917) |
24.15 (9.508) |
26.13 (10.287) |
243.01 (95.67) |
| Source: MSN Weather[9] | |||||||||||||
The first highrise building in Sibu was the Sarawak House hotel and shopping complex, built in the early 1970s by a group of local businessmen. Among the interesting landmarks in Sibu are Wisma Sanyan, a 28-storey building, which is the tallest building in Sarawak[3] (to be surpassed by Kuching Tower soon), Tua Pek Kong Temple and the Central Market. The completion of RH Hotel and the current Kingwood Hotel expansion project are to meet the tourism aspiration of the town. An 18-storey building (the right model in the picture) will be constructed next to the original site of the hotel. The Civic Centre Museum (its official name was Dewan Kebudayaan dan Warisan;Cultural & Heritage Hall in English) had a display of Sibu's history, and Melanau, Iban, Malay, and Chinese artifacts and has been relocated to the new Sibu Cultural & Heritage Centre. The YMCA Resort is an outskirts resort getaway for camping and retreat. Another landmark is Old Sibu Municipal Council building, where formerly housed the Sibu Municipal Council Office and Public Library (before moving to its current building at Jalan Keranji in 1986) is now known as Sibu Heritage Centre (SHC) which houses the exhibits previously exhibited at the Civic Centre Museum. The Lau King Howe Hospital Memorial Museum is the first medical museum in Malaysia, one of the oldest hospitals in Sarawak. It exhibits medical equipment and uniforms used by medical staffs at Lau King Howe Hospital.
Recent years Sibu Town is rapidly expanded to outskirts or housing estates area with many commercial centres & outlets springing everywhere. This made town centre deserted during the night time as the people are scattered in various shopping, dining & clubbing places throughout the Swan City.
The area at the town's outskirts like Soon Hup Garden, Teku area near the Igan Bridge & also the road to Rantau Panjang Shipping Industrial Zone, Ulu Sungai Merah, Salim, Kemuyang & of course the ever expanding satellite town of Sibu Jaya still have many on-going housing & shoplots developments together with the completion of Sibu-Tanjung Manis Road & other infrastructure facilities will make Sibu one of the fastest growing and bustling town in Sarawak.
The Pasar Malam (Night Market) is situated in the town centre. Local traders will usually set up their mobile stalls at around 7 pm-11 pm. Items on display are general Malay and Chinese delicacies, clothing, daily necessities, handicrafts and others. The vibrant Night Market sets up every afternoon around 5pm and operates until 10pm or sometimes later. The stalls offer all manners of household goods, footwear, fashion items, and all varieties of food. Even the Prime Minister made a brief visit here on 5 July 2009, as he was attending the launch of 6th Tionghua Cultural Festival, in conjunction of Borneo Cultural Festival 2009.
The Central Market is the biggest indoor market in Malaysia. It is home to thousands of stalls selling everything from fresh vegetables and fruits to live poultry. 23 February was an historic moment for the Central Market, as the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak made a brief visit to the Central Market, before returning to Kuala Lumpur on the same day. There are 2 photographs of his visit to the Central Market on PM's official Facebook page.
Sibu is rich in Chinese cultural attractions, especially those of the Foochow community.
The Sungai Merah Heritage Walk is a landscaped park situated in a township called Sungai Merah where the earliest Foochow settlers first landed when they arrived in 1902. The Foochow Centennial Celebration Building commemorates 100 years of Foochow immigration to Sibu.
Sarawak is the only few states in Malaysia where Chinese words are printed on the traffic and street signs. Apart from the only few attractions Sibu could offer to the outsiders, for those who know Chinese, it could be an interesting job to study the street signs in Sibu both written in Chinese and Malay (although the accuracy of the translation could be in dispute). The main roads in Sibu are Brooke Drive (布律克路), Jalan Oya (乌驿路)，Jalan Lanang (南兰律)，Jalan Wong King Huo (黄景和路), Jalan Rajang (拉让花园), Jalan Au Yong (后洋路)， Jalan Li Hua (丽华宝岛)， Jalan Aup (后埔港路)，etc.
Some residential streets which are less famous but with funny names are Jalan Pipit (麻雀路), Jalan Cherry (樱桃路), Jalan Rambutan (红毛丹路), Jalan Alan (阿兰路), etc.
Sibu Gateway, which is located on Pedada Road and Kampung Nyabor Road, houses displays of the twelve Chinese zodiac animals.
Another landmark of Sibu is the century old Tua Pek Kong Temple with its iconic 7-storey pagoda.[10]
Different from other parts of Malaysia, Sibu Chinese mostly believe in Christianity.
A trip to the Sibu area is incomplete without taking the opportunity to visit Rumah Panjai or Iban Longhouse. Although the Ibans in the Sibu area are modern people who have fully embraced the 21st century, they still practise many traditional customs and retain their adat or traditional law.
Upon arrival to longhouse, the ibans will usually welcome their guests with Tuak (Traditional Iban Rice Wine). Visitors may try their hands at shooting with a blowpipe, weaving a Pua Kumbu, feasting on traditional Iban pastries such as Chuan and Sarang Semut, enjoy and experience the longhouse environment and the scenery of vast paddy field and the Mighty Rajang River.
The Ibans are a warm and hospitable people, and this hospitality, coupled with their rich and colourful customs and traditions, can be a memorable experience.
Sibu has a few urban and suburban parks for the leisure activities of locals and tourists. Gu Tian Park is a landscaped park situated at Bukit Lima Road. It was built by the Gu Tian(古田)Community. Another park is Hoover Park, a suburban park built by Methodist Church, Sibu and to be maintained by the town council. Being near Sungai Merah Heritage Walk, there are plans to integrate it into one tourist destination in the future.
Sibu also has forest parks such as Bukit Lima Forest Park and Forestry Recreation Park. Bukit Lima Forest Park has a 2 km plankwalk, which is ideal for jogging. The Forestry Recreation Park which covers 200 hectares of land at 18.5 km Ulu Oya Road, is managed by the Forestry Department. The park's facilities include a camping site, a 30-metre watch-tower, a cattle and deer farm, and a huge fish pond. A major attraction to be included soon is a butterfly farm.
Bukit Aup Jubilee Park, located twenty minutes from Sibu town is a popular spot for sight-seeing, picnics, jogging and relaxing. The road to Bukit Aup Jubilee Park is tar sealed which is located less than 12 km from Sibu town. It has scenic views of the town, rivers and forests. The total undulating land for development is more than 200 acres (0.81 km2). Currently two phases have been completed comprising an observation tower, suspension bridge, sky steps, a pavilion, an amphitheatre, a children's playground, a lagoon, a canteen and other buildings. This is a special place for Sibu people to relax and get away from the hectic town life.
Accommodation in Sibu ranges from budget hotels to luxurious hotels. Below are the star-rated hotels in Sibu.
Sibu also provide various selection of Budget hotel around the downtown
One of the most notable, luxurious housing estate in Sibu is the Li Hua island (丽华宝岛)(Pulau Li Hua in Malay) located off the Jalan Upper Lanang, near the Upper Lanang bridge, fronting the Rajang river. The housing estate is developed by Hock Peng Organisation. The house owners on the island have the leasehold term of 99 years, which will expire on 17 October 2098.[11] One of the mansions on the island was the temporary residence for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah during His Majesty's visit to Sibu in 2001,[12] but now the mansion is abandoned, and grass had grown tall. The estate is planned to include various accommodations and facilities such as hotels, yacht club, arcade shops, banks and esplanade park.[13]
Sibu have over 50 primary schools and over 20 secondary schools and colleges. The Chinese primary schools which are well-known in Sibu include:
The national schools (SK) in Sibu include:
The secondary schools which are well-known and recognised as high performing schools in Sarawak and nationwide include:
Sarawak has the highest number of Chinese independent high schools (华文独中) in Malaysia, totalling 14 schools, 5 of which are located in Sibu. These are Catholic High School (公教中学), Wong Nai Siong High School (黄乃裳中学) and three others.
There are several colleges in Sibu, serving the tertiary education needs of the locals. These include:
Other than that, there were several long distance study centres here in Sibu, which are:
The healthcare needs of Sibu are served by Hospital Sibu, a government-funded public hospital. It is the second largest hospital in Sarawak and the main tertiary care and referral hospital for the Central Region of Sarawak. It was formerly located in Pulau Road (Lau King Howe Hospital, and it was named in honour of Lau King Howe, a Chinese businessman and philanthropist who donated a piece of his land to build a hospital for the people of Sibu), before its relocation to its current location and went into full operation in 1994.
The primary healthcare needs of Sibu are served by Oya Polyclinic and Lanang polyclinic. Both are government-funded clinics. There is a plan to build new polyclinic in Sibu Jaya under the 10th Malaysia Plan. Recently, a new Government Community clinic named 1Malaysia Clinic commenced its operation in Teku, and another one was set up at Sungai Bidut as well. The 3rd 1Malaysia Clinic was about to be set up in Rajang Park, to minimise the congestion at Oya Polyclinic.
Besides that, Sibu also has many private medical centres and clinics to serve the healthcare needs of the town people. The most notable medical centres are Rajang Medical Centre and Sibu Specialist Medical Centre.
Sibu Airport (IATA: SBW, ICAO: WBGS), originally built during World War II, was relocated to its present site 23 kilometres from town near Sibu Jaya in 1994. In 2008, the airport handled 831,772 passengers on 14,672 flights and 735 metric tonnes of cargo.[14] On April 2009, the airport was allocated RM150 million by the federal government for the upgrade of the terminal building. Once completed, its terminal is larger than Miri Airport and Bintulu Airport. AirAsia, Malaysia's own home-grown low-cost airline, operates in Sibu airport with frequent flights to Kuala Lumpur. [2]
Upper Lanang bridge or simply Lanang bridge or less formally Assan bridge is the bridge connecting Sibu to Sarikei and Bintangor. The ground breaking ceremony of the Upper Lanang bridge was held on 12 October 2003 and officiated by Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh. The bridge was completed on 24 April 2006, replacing the need for ferries carrying passengers and vehicles across the Rajang river. The private company building the bridge, Shin Yang Group, has the right to collect tolls for the next 30 years.[15]
The Sibu Express Wharf Terminal also provides an alternative means of transport for people along the Rajang River. Among the destinations that can be reached by express boats from Sibu include Song, Kuching, Kapit, and Kanowit.
Sibu has two bus stations. The short distance bus terminal is located near the Sibu Express Wharf Terminal while the new bus terminal is near the SMK Deshon. The short distance bus terminal is for the short distance travel within Sibu town and other local regions of Sarawak such as Sarikei and Bintangor. Among the buses put into the local services includes Lanang buses and Sibu Jaya buses. The new bus terminal is for long distance travel from Sibu to Kuching, Bintulu, and Miri through the Pan Borneo Highway. Among the long distance buses that offered their services are MTC express and Suria buses. However, there are several areas no longer served by buses, and people have to resort to illegal taxis (known as Kereta Sapu) in order to go to some downtown areas such as the Bandong area which have no serving bus company.
Sibu is known for its delicious and affordable local cuisine. The more famous dishes include: (note: the names are rendered in the Fuzhou dialect, which is often radically different from Standard Chinese.)
Sibu faces a number of economic developmental issues. There is serious income inequality in the town. The situation is not aided by the level of corruption present, which often extends into the corridors of power as is often the case in Malaysia.
Sibu has fallen behind its regional rivals, Kuching, Miri and Bintulu, in its level of economic development and from an aesthetic point of view. Sibu does not appear to be attracting major state support in terms of development. Kuching has developed a major regional airport with the aim of becoming a gateway for international tourism into the Sarawak and Borneo regions but Sibu's airport is still run-down.[16] It is likely that the state authorities do not see much potential in Sibu for future development and progression.
As Sibu now has a five star hotel with an airport under reconstruction, the potential for developemnt remains to be seen as the new airport and state sponsored activities attempt to capture a piece of the action going on around Sarawak.
There have been regular floods in Sibu, especially at Hua Kiew Road, (华侨路）in Bukit Assek state constituency. The flooding caused many problems for the Sibu-siders; many residents have moved to other areas while others have had no choice but to endure the situation. However, the Sibu flood mitigation project has been underway at Hua Kiew Road and Bandong, in order to solve the flooding problems in the area. The Mitigation project at Bandong area is expected to be completed in July 2010.
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