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.

With a rich historical background, Kuching was only made the capital of Sarawak in 1841 after it was handed to British adventurer James Brooke. Under the rule of his 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, after his father. Kuching was then held by the Japanese for three years from 1942 and survived the war. After Malaysia was formed in 1963, Kuching retained its state capital title and gained 'City' status in 1988.

Places of Attraction

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 Centre and is most 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.

As Sarawak's capital, Kuching plays a vital role in the political and economic welfare of the state's population. It is the only Malaysian city with two Mayors. Each is governed by Kuching North's commissioner and Kuching South's mayor.

The city covers an area of 1,868.83 sq km and is subdivided into three sub-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.

Mount Santubong is the city's highest point at 810.2 metres above sea level. It is 35km from the city centre.

The ethnic groups in East Malaysia, often extend from the typical Malay, Indian and Chinese to include Bidayuh, Iban, Melanau and non-Malaysian citizens. The Chinese groups are sub-divided into Hokkiens, Hakkas, Foochows, Teochews and Hainanese, among many others. Because of the variety of population, spoken languages are also many in Kuching.

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. The areas are to serve as a catalyst to the city's commercial and industrial activity in making it a major growth centre in East Malaysia, as well as for the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area. The state government has aimed for Sarawak to be a developed state by 2020.

Kuching has played host to many conferences, trade fairs and congress of the national and international kinds. Off the serious path, Kuching is also the permanent host for the biennial Asean International Film Festival and Awards. The event is usually held at the Borneo Convention Centre.

Accessibility and Transportation

Kuching is linked by highway to other Sarawak towns. The highway routes from Kuching include the Kuching Bypass, Matang Highway, Kuching-Kota Samarahan Expressway, Tun Salahuddin Bridge and the 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 to as far as Brunei, Sabah and West Kalimantan in Indonesia. The Old Kuching Bus Terminal is still in operations to accommodate bus companies which have a dispute over the new facilities.

Water transportation is also available in Kuching with a roofed-wooden sampan that can be seen carrying passengers from one riverbank to another. In Pending, there is a wharf for express boats serving routes to Sibu and Bintulu. It is called the Sim Kheng Hong Port.

The Kuching International Airport dates back to the 1940s and is said to be the fourth busiest airport in the country. It is the secondary hub for Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia and is the third hub for MASWings which flies to smaller towns and more rural areas in East Malaysia.

Amenities and Facilities

Kuching has many hospitals within its city borders, including the General Hospital, the Normah Medical Specialist Centre in Petra Jaya, KPJ Healthcare, Timberland Medical Centre and Borneo Medical Centre.

There are many schools in Kuching, managed by the Kuching Combined Education Office. These include pre-schools, primary schools, secondary schools and boarding schools. There are two international schools, called the Tunku Putra International School and the Lodge International School. Sunny Hill School and St Joseph Private Schools are listed as other private schools in the city. Kuching also has tertiary education institutions including private colleges.

There are many shopping malls in Kuching, including The Spring, Kuching Sentral, EG Mall, Hills Shopping Mall, Viva City, Boulevard Shopping Mall and CityONE Megamall. The Satok Weekend Market operates on weekends offering vegetables, fruits, handicrafts, local delicacies and other products.

Kuching has eight sister cities, four in China, Indonesia Pontianak, Johor Baru in the west, Saudi Arabia Jeddah and South Korea Guro.

Note: Whilst every effort has been taken to ensure the above information is up to date, some inaccuracies may occur. If you notice any inaccuracies please contact [email protected] All information was correct at time of publication and is provided in good faith.