Sarikei

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Sarikei
Location in Malaysia
Coordinates: 2°7′32″N, 111°31′19″E
Country State	Malaysia Sarawak
Area
- City	985 km²  (380.3 sq mi)
Population (2000)
- City	61,100
Time zone	MST (UTC+8)
- Summer (DST)	Not observed (UTC)
Website: http://www.sarikeiro.sarawak.gov.my/>

Sarikei is a town, and the capital of the Sarikei District (985 square kilometers) in Sarikei Division, Sarawak, east Malaysia. It is located on the Rajang River, near where the river empties into the South China Sea. The district population (year 2000 census) was 61,100. The population is culturally mixed, with mostly Iban, Melanau, Malay and Chinese predominating.

The economy of the town is primarily agricultural, and Sarikei is famed for its pineapples and its pepper. The center of town has many old Chinese shophouses from the 1930s. It is also a major transportation hub for traffic on both the Pan Borneo Highway and the Rajang river. Anybody traveling by road or express boat from Kuching to Sibu must pass through Sarikei.

The most unusual feature of the bustling waterfront is a 3.6m high pineapple statue.

The town itself consists of a main road, Repok Road which is bisected by another road leading to the new development in Kampung Seberang.

Contents 1 History and background 2 Infrastructure 2.1 Healthcare 2.2 Education 2.3 Transport 3 Culture and Leisure 3.1 Attractions and Recreation Spots 3.2 Shopping Centre 3.3 Religious Places 4 Cuisine 4.1 Places to eat 5 Photo Gallery 6 Famous person 7 External Links 8 References

[edit] History and background

The early history of Sarikei can be traced as far back as the early 19th century. There are many historical events to show its existence. For example, Rajah James Brooke first visited Sarikei on 30^th April 1845. There were also resistance from the local people towards the Brooke’s administration, including the burning of Sarikei on 4.1.1856 and the Julau Expedition on 19^th June 1856, which was led by Sir Charles Brooke to counter the native resistance in Julau.

The establishment of Sarikei as a new Division was mainly based on security consideration. Datu Wilson Baya Dandot, The Deputy State Secretary (Planning and Development) in his article entitled: Sarawak’s Unique Administrative Identity: Establishment of Divisional, District and Sub-District Machinery For Enhancing Development Administration said that the establishment of Sarikei as the Sixth Division then was due to the security threats posed by the communist insurgency which was at its height at that time. It was felt that with the establishment of a new Sarikei Division the government would be able to concentrate and focus more in its efforts to contain and counter the security problem in the area^[1].

Also known as the "food basket" for the Land of the Hornbills, Sarikei started as a small village comprising the "Segalang" community and a few rows of Chinese shophouses. From a dead town, the once isolated and remote Sarikei has progressed and the people now enjoy infrastructural facilities and economic opportunities.

[edit] Infrastructure

[edit] Healthcare

Medical needs are served by several hospitals and clinics. The main hospital is Sarikei Hospital, officially opened in 2006, costing RM250.4M^[2].^[3]

[edit] Education

There are several schools with decades of established history.

Primary Schools

• SRB St. Anne Sarikei
• Kwang Chien Primary School
• Methodist Primary School

Secondary Schools

• SMB St. Anthony Sarikei
• SMK Bandar Sarikei
• SMB Tinggi Sarikei

Libraries:

Sarikei Public Library situated at Jalan Kapur has a floor area of approximately 2,000 square meters at a cost of around RM3.5 million and was opened to the public on 1^st August 2003.^[4]

[edit] Transport

• Water Transport: Sarikei Wharf Terminal. Terminal 1 is next to the the clock tower and the pineapple statue. Terminal 2 serves the bigger boats to Kuching.
• Land Transport: Sarikei Regional bus terminal located 1 km from town centre serves as the main hub for express buses to various destinations in Sarawak including Kuching, Sri Aman, Sibu, Bintangor, Bintulu and Miri.

[edit] Culture and Leisure

[edit] Attractions and Recreation Spots

Sebangkoi Country Resort is a popular place to visit for the local populace. What was once a simple waterfall has now emerged as a multimillon dollar development with landscaped gardens and accommodation.

Sarikei Wharf Esplanade is ideal for evening strolls and sunset watching. The sun sets in the west and that's the direction of the Rejang River's flow towards the river mouth at the South China Sea where it deposits its silt.

Sarikei Lake Park

Sarikei Merdeka Park

[edit] Shopping Centre

There are 2-3 major shopping centres in Sarikei, namely Ngiu Kee and Everrise.

[edit] Religious Places

The main religions in the town are Christianity, Buddhism and Islam.

The town also have a fairly large population of Christians. The majority of the Christians belong to the Methodist denomination which have about four churches in the town area and surrounding residential areas. The Roman Catholic parish of St Anthony's in Sarikei has its church along Repok Road. The mission also runs two schools, St. Anthony's Secondary School and St. Anne's Primary School as well as a kindergarten, St. Clement's. Other Christian churches include the Anglican Church centre in the Nyelong Park Housing Estate as well the SIB (Borneo Evagelical Church).

The primary place of worship for the Muslims is the town mosque adjacent to the Hua Tai residential area.

[edit] Cuisine

The more famous local cuisine include:

• "Kam Pua noodles" (干拌面)
• "Kompia" (光饼)
• "Bien Niuk"(扁肉)
• "Bek Ting Yuok": The soup of eight essences - nice, sweet, tasty and nutritious Chinese soup made of at least eight types of Chinese herbal materials.

(note: the names are rendered in the Fuzhou dialect, which is often radically different from Standard Mandarin.)

[edit] Places to eat

Interesting places to eat in Sarikei include the two coffeeshops in the Nyelong Industrial Estate, which serve nice Kam Pua noodles as well as Prawn Noodles, Aik Seng coffeeshop, which is the most delicious meal, serves a mean Roti Kahwin and an interesting version of Kam Pua noodles and Hieh Lik coffeeshop, which houses the Ah Cheng eatery.

A Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and a local fastfood franchise called Sugar Bun.

[edit] Photo Gallery

Taman Tasik Sarikei	Sarikei Wharf Terminal 1	Sarikei New Hospital	Sarikei Bus Station
Sarikei Public Library[4]	Sarikei Merdeka Square		Dewan Suarah Sarikei

[edit] Famous person

• Syarif Masahor - Malay warrior and the Resident of Sarikei during White Rajahs era

[edit] External Links

• Sarikei Tourism
• Sarikei District Council
• Pejabat Residen Bahagian Sarikei
• Pejabat Daerah Sarikei
• Sarikei Time Capsule

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 2.1256° 111.5219°
  • Mapping from Multimap or GlobalGuide or Google Maps
  • Aerial image from TerraServer
  • Satellite image from WikiMapia

[edit] References

1. ^ Ministry of Urban Development and Tourism Sarawak.
2. ^ All Malaysian Info Website.
3. ^ Sarikei - A Transit Town To An Agriculture Growth Centre
4. ^ ^{a b} Sarikei Public Library.

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