Kota Samarahan
Kota Samarahan is the administrative seat of the Samarahan District (508.1 square kilometres) in Samarahan Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is located about 30 kilometers from Kuching. The district population (year 2014 census) was 157,792. Kota Samarahan is the main education hub for Sarawak State and officially known as "Town of Knowledge". The District Officer of this city is Datuk Patinggi Puan Hajah Affidatul. On January 11, 2017, Chief Minister Adenan Satem died in Sarawak Heart Hospital in this city.
Kota Samarahan | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Nickname(s): "Town of Knowledge" | |
  Kota Samarahan Location in Borneo | |
| Coordinates: 1°27′34″N 110°29′56″E | |
| Country | Malaysia |
| State | Sarawak |
| Division | Samarahan Division |
| District | Samarahan District |
| First settled | Circa AD 600s (7th century)[1] |
| Incorporation (Municipality) | 24 July 1986[2] |
| Government | |
| • Type | District Council |
| • Chairman (Walikota) | Datuk Frederick Bayoi Maggie |
| Area | |
| • Kota Samarahan | 508 km2 (196 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 27 m (89 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 810.2 m (2,658.1 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2015)[3] | |
| • Kota Samarahan | 157,792 |
| • Estimate (2014) | 800,760 |
| • Density | 1,201.9/km2 (3,113/sq mi) |
| Sourced from the Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2015. Census 2014 is currently in progress. | |
| Demonym(s) | (none) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+8 (Not observed) |
| Postal code | 94300 |
| International dialling code prefix | +6082 (landline only) |
| Vehicle registration plate prefix | QC (for all vehicles except taxis) HQ (for taxis only) |
| Website | samarahandc.sarawak.gov.my |
History
Kota Samarahan was once known as Muara Tuang which was at that time a small village in the area. The village was linked to Kuching by a road only in early 1970s. Before that, the only means of transport to the village was via the nearby river. Development in the small village accelerated with the construction of a 25-kilometre road linking Kota Samarahan to Kuching.[4]
Geography
Kota Samarahan is almost a suburb of the greater metropolitan area of Kuching, in the Kuching Division. It is located about 30 km south east of Kuching. The lands in Samarahan are mostly non-hilly, flat and low-lying. Most of the soils are peat soils which are ideal for coconut, oil palm and pineapples plantation. Most of the development in the Samarahan Division is concentrated in Kota Samarahan.
Climate
Kota Samarahan has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.
| Climate data for Kota Samarahan | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29.7 (85.5) |
29.9 (85.8) |
31.0 (87.8) |
32.0 (89.6) |
32.4 (90.3) |
32.2 (90.0) |
32.1 (89.8) |
32.1 (89.8) |
31.7 (89.1) |
31.6 (88.9) |
31.3 (88.3) |
30.6 (87.1) |
31.4 (88.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.1 (79.0) |
26.2 (79.2) |
26.9 (80.4) |
27.5 (81.5) |
27.8 (82.0) |
27.6 (81.7) |
27.3 (81.1) |
27.4 (81.3) |
27.1 (80.8) |
27.1 (80.8) |
26.9 (80.4) |
26.6 (79.9) |
27.0 (80.7) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 22.6 (72.7) |
22.6 (72.7) |
22.8 (73.0) |
23.0 (73.4) |
23.3 (73.9) |
23.0 (73.4) |
22.6 (72.7) |
22.7 (72.9) |
22.6 (72.7) |
22.7 (72.9) |
22.6 (72.7) |
22.6 (72.7) |
22.8 (73.0) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 578 (22.8) |
447 (17.6) |
314 (12.4) |
280 (11.0) |
248 (9.8) |
198 (7.8) |
189 (7.4) |
235 (9.3) |
269 (10.6) |
319 (12.6) |
349 (13.7) |
474 (18.7) |
3,900 (153.7) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org[5] | |||||||||||||
Economy
Agriculture is still the main economic activity in Kota Samarahan but light industries were slowly moving in. The service sector, especially in education related-sector, is becoming increasingly significant in Samarahan. Commercial centres were blooming to cater for the increasing population.[4]
Shopping Malls
- The Summer Mall @ Servay Hypermarket
- Aiman Mall (H&L Supermarket and Grand Supermart is anchor tenants)
Education
Kota Samarahan has a concentration of universities and educational facilities, thus forming it into a main educational hub in Sarawak. Institutions of higher learning in the area includes Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Universiti Teknologi MARA Kota Samarahan Campus (2 campuses), Institute of Teacher Education (Tun Abdul Razak Campus, Kota Samarahan Industrial Training Institute (ILPKS) and AAA Zenith Services (English language service provider).
Medical Facilities
The Heart Centre, Sarawak General Hospital (SGH Heart Centre) is located in Kota Samarahan. The RM400 million centre, formerly known as Sarawak International Medical Centre (SIMC), was assigned professional cardiac specialists, along with the latest modern technology. In addition, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) has proposed to build a training hospital for its Medicine and Health Sciences Faculty under the 10th Malaysia Plan.
Shopping
The Summer Shopping Mall - Located at Kota Samarahan, is a 3-storey shopping mall with an underground car park. The adjacent Summer Lagoon Water Theme Park is on schedule to be open later in this year. Its main tenants are Servay Hypermarket, Parkwell Departmental Store and Lotus Five Star, the region largest Lotus Five Star Cineplex with 12 comfortable hall consist of 9 elegant Cinema hall, two 3D Movie Hall and one classy theatre room.
Transportation
Prior to 1990, the shortest means of access into Samarahan from Kuching was via a ferry at Sungai Kuap other than direct road access from Jalan Datuk Muhamad Musa which takes longer. The construction of a bridge has further shortened the road distance from between Kuching-Kota Samarahan to 11 kilometers. This new road, officially known as Kuching-Kota Samarahan Expressway, links Kota Samarahan with the major industrial areas of Pending, Demak Laut and Sama Jaya. This new road is currently undergoing some expansion in anticipation of increased traffic between Kuching-Samarahan due to the increasing population in Samarahan.[4]
External links
References
- "Sejarah Bahagian Samarahan". Retrieved 26 April 2010.
-
Sarawak Government Almanac, PNMB Kuching, 2010,
Samarahan District is launched as a new Division.
- "World Gazetter: Malaysia – largest cities (per geographical entity)". Archived from the original on 17 December 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- "Sarawak Property Bulletin" (PDF). C H Williams Talhar Wong & Yeo Sdn Bhd. June 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
- "Climate: Kota Samarahan". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
Capital: Kuching | |
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