KUCHING

 

Overview

Known as Malaysia's Cat City, Kuching is the capital of Sarawak in East Malaysia and is also the most populous city of Sarawak.

In 1841, it was placed under the management of British adventurer James Brooke, who was appointed as the Governor of Sarawak with the title of Rajah. Under the rule of James Brooke’s nephew Charles Brooke, the town saw more development including a bazaar, hospital, prison, a fort and sanitation systems.

The Brookes held administration of Sarawak for at least three generations, coming to an end with Charles Vyner Brooke, who was the Third Rajah of Sarawak. Kuching was then held by the Japanese for three years from 1942 and survived the Second World War.

After Malaysia was formed in 1963, Kuching remained as Sarawak’s capital and gained its 'city' status in 1988.

The city covers an area of 1,868.83 sq km and is subdivided into three administrative districts – Kuching Proper, Siburan and Padawan. Cumulatively, Kuching North City Hall, Kuching South City Council, Padawan Municipal Council and the Samarahan District Council is known as Greater Kuching.

The area has seen rapid urbanisation that has extended to up to 65km from Kuching to include Kota Sentosa, Kota Padawan, Matang, Samariang, Tarat, Asajaya, Serian and Penrissen.

Accessibility and Transportation

Kuching is linked by highway to other Sarawak towns. The highway routes from Kuching include Kuching Bypass, Matang Highway, Kuching-Kota Samarahan Expressway, Tun Salahuddin Bridge and Kuching–Serian Highway.

Taxi services and mini-buses are widely available in Kuching while the main bus terminal, Kuching Sentral, was opened in 2012. Located south of the city, and five minutes away from the Kuching International Airport, the terminal serves passengers who want to travel to as far as Brunei, Sabah and West Kalimantan in Indonesia.

Many of Sarawak’s rural areas rely on river transportation. Express boat and river taxi services are the means for people to get to rural areas inaccessible by road. From the Borneo Convention Centre, Kuching (BCCK), the river taxis would travel to the Kubah Ria food court in Petra Jaya.

The Kuching International Airport is said to be the fourth busiest airport in the country. Located about 11 km south of Kuching city centre, the airport serves the entire southwestern region of Sarawak.

Modernizing 

Stepping into the modern days, Kuching is now a place with comprehensive conveniences. It has also forged long-term ties with 10 sister cities, namely Dali, Kunming, Xiamen and Zhejiang in China; Bandung, Pontianak and Singkawang in Indonesia; Johor Bahru in Malaysia; Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Seoul’s Guro district in South Korea.  

There are many hospitals within Kuching’s borders, including the Sarawak General Hospital, the Normah Medical Specialist Centre in Petra Jaya, KPJ Kuching Specialist Hospital, Timberland Medical Centre and Borneo Medical Centre.

Pre-schools, primary schools, secondary schools and boarding schools are all available in Kuching. International schools include Tunku Putra-HELP School, Borneo International School and the Lodge International School. Sunny Hill School and St Joseph Private School are other private schools in the city. Kuching also has tertiary education institutions including private colleges.

There are many places to shop in Kuching, including Riverside Shopping Complex, The Spring Shopping Mall, Hills Shopping Mall, Vivacity Megamall, CityONE Megamall Kuching, Plaza Merdeka and Boulevard Shopping Mall. The Satok Weekend Market that operates on weekends offers vegetables, fruits, handicrafts, local delicacies and other products.

Kuching is Sarawak's main commercial and industrial centre with many international, national and state-level banks and insurance companies. There are three industrial areas in Kuching – Pending Industrial Estate, Demak Laut Industrial Park and Sama Jaya Free Industrial Zone.

Kuching is the main entry point for travellers into Sarawak and Borneo and has many tourist destinations including the Kuching Wetlands National Park, Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. The city is noted for the Rainforest World Music Festival which is thronged by visitors by the thousands every year.

Other tourist attractions include the Damai beach, Sarawak Cultural Village, Sarawak State Museum, the Kuching Cat Museum, Fort Margherita and The Astana which is the official residence of the Sarawak Governor.