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Sarawak
Flag
By Mr. Low
Mee Kiong
Miri,
Sarawak.
Taken
from
Sarawak Gazette
Number of flags flown in Sarawak
How many flags have been flown in Sarawak? This is an interesting question. Actually, Sarawak has been ruled by quite a number of regimes and each regime has its own flag. Before 24 September 1841. Sarawak was ruled by the Sultan of Brunei and obviously, the Brunei flag was used to show that Sarawak was part of Brunei. From 24 September 1841 until 23 December 1941 when Sarawak was under the regime of Brooke's family, a number of flags was used. Japanese came and conquered Sarawak from 24 December 1941 until 14 August 1945 and, therefore, the flag of the Rising sun was flown during that period.
Sarawak was librated from the Japanese invaders by the Australian on 11 September 1945 and, therefore, the Australian flag was hoisted in Sarawak for a short period until 15 April 1946. Sarawak became a British Colony on 1 July 1946 and from then onwards, the British Union Jack was used. In order to distinguish Sarawak from other Crown Colonies, the old Sarawak flag designed by Sir Charles Brooke being added in the centre of the cross.
Sarawak achieved independence through Malaysia on 16 September 1963 and it was almost ten years after the independence that the State Government under the then Chief Ministership of YAB Tun Datuk Patinggi Haji Abdul Rahman Ya'kub introduced a new flag (The Trisakti) on 31 August 1973. It was used until 30 August 1988 when the present State Flag was being introduced to replace it. So, altogether there are ten flags (not include Malaysia Flag) being flown in the State of Sarawak.
Flag which have been flown in Sarawak
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(1) Brunei Flag
It was obvious that a Brunei Flag was used until 24 September 1841. However, the present Brunei flag was introduced in 1906 and therefore it could not be used to represent the old Brunei Flag at that time.
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(2) James Brooke's Personal Standard Flag
| Period : | From 24 September 1841 - 20 September
1848 The Flag of swallowtailed St. George - a red cross on a white background |
| Adopted : | By Sir James Brooke when he was proclaimed as the First White Rajah of Sarawak. Which then comprised the territory from Tanjung Datu to the Sadong River. |
| Remarks : | This flag was first flown over his fort at Belidah, Upper Sarawak (Bau). It was also being carried in the war boats of his Malay and Dayak Chiefs who supported him during the early, turbulent years of his rule. |
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(3) The First Sarawak Flag
| Period : | From 21 September 1848 to 6 May 1870 |
| Design : | Half blue and half red cross on a yellow background |
| Adopted : | The flag was designed by Rajah Sir James Brooke himself |
| Remarks : | Although Sir James Brooke became the Rajah of Sarawak on 24 September 1841, he used his personal flag for almost seven years before he introduced this first Sarawak Flag for the country. By then Sarawak had been enlarged from Tanjung Datu up to Oya River in Sarikei Division. |
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(4) The Second Sarawak Flag
| Period : | From 7 May 1870 to 23 December 1941 |
| Design : | Half back and half red cross on a yellow background |
| Adopted : | By Sir Charles Brooke, the second White Rajah of Sarawak |
| Remarks : | These was no record to show the reason for the change of the first Sarawak Flag to the second Sarawak Flag and a search through the State Archives failed to reveal anything. |
However, there was a story about the change of colour from blue to black on the Sarawak Flag designed by Sir James Brooke among the local population. When Sir Charles Brooke was proclaimed the second White Rajah of Sarawak on 3 August 1868, the representatives of the three major communities in Sarawak i.e. Dayak, Malay and Chinese presented gifts to the Rajah.
The Dayak community gave the gift wrapped in black cloth whereas the Malay community presented the gift enclosed in yellow cloth. The Chinese community being fond of red colour brought the gift in the red cloth. These three colours attracted the attention of Sir Charles Brooke who always had the welfare and interested of the people at heart. Hence, he decided to change the colours of the Sarawak Flag from blue, red and yellow to black, red and yellow in order to suit the favourite colours of the local communities of Sarawak.
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(5) Japanese Flag
| Period : | From 24 December 1941 to 14 August 1945 |
| Design : | By the Japanese for more than one thousand years. The sun is the legendary ancestor of the Japanese Emperor and it is the symbol of the land of the rising sun - Japan |
| Remarks : | The Japanese army first landed in Miri on 16 December 1941 and later conquered Kuching on 21 December 1941. The Japanese flag - the rising sun was flown in Sarawak replacing the flag adopted by Sir Charles Brooke for a period of more than three and half years until the Japanese surrendered to the Australian forces on 14 August 1945. Although the Japanese Flag had never been accepted by the people of Sarawak as their own flag, it flew on her land during the period of Japanese Occupation. |
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(6) Australian Flag
| Period : | From 11 September 1945 to 15 April 1946 |
| Design : | British Blue Ensign charged with six white stars |
| Adopted : | By the Australian which was hoisted in Australia since 1901 |
| Remarks : | When the Japanese surrendered on 14 August 1945 and upon Australian forces fully liberated Sarawak on 11 September 1945, the Australian flag was hoisted in Sarawak replacing the flag of the Rising Sun. However, the Australian flag was replaced by the Sarawak Flag when civil government was restored on 15 April 1946. |
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(7) Union Jack
| Period : | From 1 July 1946 to 15 September 1963 |
| Design : | The Union Jack consists of superimposed crosses of St. George, St. Andrew and St. Patrick, the patron saints of England, Scotland and Ireland respectively. |
| Adopted : | By the British when Sarawak became a British Crown Colony |
| Remarks : | The Malaysian flag replace the Union Jack on 16 September 1963 when Sarawak achieved her independence within Malaysia at that time. |
Note : The Union Jack was not actually the Sarawak Flag; it was hoisted together with the Sarawak State Flag in order to show that Sarawak was a British Colony.
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(8) Sarawak Flag Flown During Colonial Time
| Period : | From July 1946 to 31 August 1973 |
| Design : | To distinguish Sarawak from other British Crown Colonies, the old Sarawak state flag was restored but a yellow crown in the centre of the cross was added to signify it as a British Crown Colony |
| Adopted : | By the British Authority when Sarawak became a British Crown Colony |
| Remarks : | The five pointed triangles on the crown signified the five divisions of Sarawak. The Colonial Flag was flown for a period of 17 years when Sarawak became a British Colony from 1 July 1946 till 16 September 1963. It continued to be flown in Sarawak for almost 10 years after Sarawak achieved her independence within Malaysia. It was finally replaced by the Trisakti Flag on 31 August 1973. |
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(9) The Trisakti
| Period : | From 31 August 1973 to 30 August 1988 |
| Design : | The flag consisted of a blue triangle with red colour formed the top half of the field and with white colour formed the bottom half of the field |
| Adopted : | By the State Government under YAB Tun Datuk Patinggi Haji Abdul Rahman Ya'kub when he was the Chief Minister of Sarawak from 7 July 1970 to 26 March 1981 |
| Remarks : | The blue triangle in the flag signifies a united people of Sarawak pursuing the national aspirations. The top half of the field in red represents courage and determination whereas the bottom half of the field in white represents honesty and purity. It was hoisted at midnight on 31 August 1973 by the Chief Minister himself on the occasion of the State 10th Anniversary of Independence within Malaysia. |
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(10) The Present Sarawak Flag
| Period : | From 31 August 1988 until today |
| Design : | A nine pointed yellow star on black and red diagonal strips with yellow field |
| Adopted : | By the State Government of Sarawak under the Chief Ministership of YAB Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr.) Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud. |
| Remarks : | Yellow donates the
supremacy of Law and Order, unity and stability in diversity. The yellow
nine pointed star denotes the nine divisions where the Rakyat live in
harmony. The star symbol also embodies the aspiration of the people of
Sarawak in their quest to improve their quality of life. Red symbolises the courage, determination and sacrifices of the Rakyat in their tireless pursuit to attain and maintain progress and esteem in the course of creating a model State. Black symbolises the rich natural resources and wealth of Sarawak such as petroleum, timber etc. which provide the foundation for the advancement of her people. |
It was hoisted at State Stadium Kuching on 31 August 1998 by Sarawak's Chief Minister, YAB Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr.) Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud on the occasion of State 25th Anniversary of Independence within Malaysia.
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