Marudi, Sarawak

Marudi
Marudi
	Town
	Nickname(s): Claude Town (Brooke Administration)
	Marudi
	Coordinates: 4°11′0″N 114°19′0″E
Country	Malaysia
State	Sarawak
Government
• District Officer	Markus Sibong ; (District Officer)
Area
• Total	21,634.0 km2 (8,518 sq mi)
Population (2010[1])
• Total	90,100
Demonym(s)	Marudian
Time zone	UTC+8 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	Not observed
Postal code	9805x
International dialling code prefix	085 (landline only)
Vehicle registration plate prefix	QM (for all vehicles except taxis) ; HQ (for taxis only)
Website	www.marudidc.org

Marudi is a town on the Baram River in Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. Marudi is a quiet town situated inland from Miri, similar in size to Kapit though nowhere near as busy. Its main attraction is another of the Brooke outposts, the beige wooden Fort Hose. It is the cultural heart of Sarawak's highland tribesfolk, collectively called Orang Ulu. Before Miri was founded, Marudi was the administrative centre of the northern region of Sarawak.

Marudi, a riverine town about 100 km upriver from Kuala Baram, is the largest town in the sparsely populated Baram district. It is the district administrative headquarters and has been since the days of the White Rajahs. Marudi used to be a stepping stone to the well-known tourist destination, Gunung Mulu National Park. Pioneer tourists would travel from Miri to Marudi first, and then from the river, tourists would have to use long boats cutting through few adventurous rapids upstream before reaching Mulu. With the completion of a small airport at Mulu, most tourists prefer to take Twin Otters operated by MASwings of Malaysia Airlines direct from Miri Airport.

Brooke administration

Charles Hose

Exterior view of the Fort Hose in 1896

Interior view of the Fort Hose in 1896

Peace conference of indigenous tribes in April 1899

Charles Brooke succeeded James Brooke as the new Rajah of Sarawak in 1868.

By 1883, Sultan of Brunei (Sultan Abdul Momin) ceded the Baram region (including Miri) to Charles Brooke.[2][3]

The fourth division of Sarawak was immediately created with the installation of Mamerto George Gueritz as the first Resident of the Division.

A fort was built in at Marudi, 43 km to the east of Miri[4] in 1883: it was named Claudetown in honour of Claude Champion de Crespigny, Resident of the Third Division when he died in 1884, and became the administrative centre of the division.

The administration was helped by two junior officers, 30 rangers, and a few native police.[5]

Charles Hose became Resident of Baram District in 1891 and the fort in Marudi was renamed as "Fort Hose".

To restore peace among various ethnic tribes fighting in the Baram region, Charles Hose decided to organise a peace conference at his fort in April 1899 right after a difficult but successful journey to visit the Madangs people in interior Baram (at the foot of Mudong Alan Lata river also known as Data river(a tributary to Silat river)).

This peace conference also led to the birth of first Baram Regatta, a long boat race competition among the natives which continued to be held until today.[6]

The Resident Office moved from Marudi to Miri in 1912 after rapid oil discovery activity development in Miri.

Transportation

Air

Marudi is served by Marudi Airport (MUR) which is in the town. Twin Otters fly to Miri up to nine times daily and serve Bario, Long Banga, Long Lellang, Long Akah and Long Seridan. The airport is a 10-minute (1 km) walk east of the centre. It contains Runway 10/28 that is 1 km long and its parking bay can handle 3 to 4 de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter at the same time.

Marudi view from sky

Water

Express boats between Marudi and Kuala Baram used to operate regularly in the morning and early afternoon until the road connecting Miri to Marudi was paved. Since then there is only one boat operating and it leaves Miri early in the morning.

Taxis go from Kuala Baram to Miri.

Express boats service stop business since 1 Jun 2015.

Land

Marudi is mostly connected by road to Miri which only takes about 1 and a half hour to reach Miri City. There will be a ferry service when you reach Sungai Baram, Ridan. The ferry fee has been reduced from RM15.00 to RM1.00 per one way. This new fee was announced by the Chief Minister of Sarawak in the Dewan Undangan Negeri Sarawak in April 2015.

Geography

Climate

Marudi has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.

Climate data for Marudi
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	30.1 (86.2)	30.0 (86.0)	30.6 (87.1)	31.2 (88.2)	31.4 (88.5)	31.4 (88.5)	31.1 (88.0)	31.1 (88.0)	31.1 (88.0)	30.8 (87.4)	30.7 (87.3)	30.5 (86.9)	30.8 (87.5)
Daily mean °C (°F)	26.7 (80.1)	26.7 (80.1)	27.0 (80.6)	27.6 (81.7)	27.7 (81.9)	27.6 (81.7)	27.3 (81.1)	27.3 (81.1)	27.3 (81.1)	27.2 (81.0)	27.1 (80.8)	26.9 (80.4)	27.2 (81.0)
Average low °C (°F)	23.3 (73.9)	23.4 (74.1)	23.5 (74.3)	24.0 (75.2)	24.0 (75.2)	23.8 (74.8)	23.5 (74.3)	23.5 (74.3)	23.6 (74.5)	23.6 (74.5)	23.5 (74.3)	23.4 (74.1)	23.6 (74.5)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	287 (11.3)	177 (7.0)	195 (7.7)	229 (9.0)	254 (10.0)	204 (8.0)	178 (7.0)	235 (9.3)	240 (9.4)	307 (12.1)	328 (12.9)	338 (13.3)	2,972 (117)
Source: Climate-Data.org[7]

Economy

Tourism

Baram Regional Museum at Marudi (formerly known as Fort Hose).

The main tourist attraction in the town is "Fort Hose". Fort Hose was a wooden fort built during the Brooke administration. The fort was named after an ethnographer and a photographer Charles Hose. The fort was later converted into a museum which houses some ethnographic photographs, local textiles, handicrafts, and ceremonial items. The museum is accessible from Jalan Fort which is 10 minutes from the main bazaar.[8]

Marudi Landmark (Baram Regatta Statue)

Marudi Tua Pek Gong Temple

Cuisine

Marudi Kueh Tiaw

Marudi is the only town in Sarawak that served a thick version of Char Kway Tiaw.[9] Marudi Handmade Bread is also one of a must-try food in Marudi, it can be found in Ah Pong Cafe which just located beside Marudi Town Square. Since Marudi is a riverside-town, so you can find out a lot of different types of river fishes here. The most famous river-food in Marudi are Belidah fish (fish ball/fish cake), Tapah Fish, Tutu Fish and also the famous Bighead Prawn (udang galah). You can taste all these river-foods at some restaurants here. If you have enquiries with the location, do not feel hesitate to ask the local people, they're willing to guide you because small town people are always friendly.

Chan's Restaurant 085-755417

Marudi government departments / emergency call

District Office 085-755211, 755770
Marudi District Council 085-755755
Police Station 085-755221, 755222, 755751
Marudi Hospital 085-755511 (24-hour hotline)
Fire Station 085-755189
Sesco (power station) 085-755231

Banks

Public Bank (with ATM accepted VISA, MASTER and so on)
Bank Rakyat/finance (ATM only that accepted VISA, MASTER and so on)
Bank Simpanan Nasional (with ATM accepted VISA, MASTER and so on)

Education

Kindergarten

Marudi Methodist
Yuk Ying
Tabika KEMAS

Primary school

SJK Chung Hua Primary School
SJK Sungai Jaong Primary School
SRB Qiao Nang Primary School
SRB Hua Nang Primary School
Good Shepherd Primary School
Dato Sharif Hamid Primary School

Secondary school

SMK Telang Usan
SMK Marudi

College and technic school

Giatmara Baram

References

"Basic Population Characteristics by Administrative Districts, published by the Department of Statistics, Malaysia" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
"Chronology of Sarawak throughout the Brooke Era to Malaysia Day". The Borneo Post. 16 September 2011. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
"Laman Web Rasmi Pejabat Residen dan Daerah di Miri - Sejarah Miri (Official Website of Miri Resident and District Office - History of Miri)" (in Malay). Miri Resident and District Office. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
Joseph, Anthony (28 May 2012). "Road upgrade will reduce Miri—Marudi travelling time". The Borneo Post. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
Hose, Charles; McDougall, William (1912). The pagan tribes of Borneo; a description of their physical, moral and intellectual condition, with some discussion of their ethnic relations, vol.2. Macmillan and Co. Ltd. p. 279. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015. Alt URL
Madian, Amrizan (2011). "Baram Regatta A Testament Of Racial Harmony". Bernama. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
"Climate: Marudi". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
"Fort Hose, Marudi, Sarawak". Sarawak Tourism Board. Sarawak Tourism Board. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
"Marudi's version of char kway teow a must-try". Borneo Post Adventure Team, Sarawak. 17 June 2017. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2020.

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[1] "Basic Population Characteristics by Administrative Districts, published by the Department of Statistics, Malaysia" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2011.

[2] "Chronology of Sarawak throughout the Brooke Era to Malaysia Day". The Borneo Post. 16 September 2011. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.

[Miriresident-3] "Laman Web Rasmi Pejabat Residen dan Daerah di Miri - Sejarah Miri (Official Website of Miri Resident and District Office - History of Miri)" (in Malay). Miri Resident and District Office. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.

[Mirimarudi-4] Joseph, Anthony (28 May 2012). "Road upgrade will reduce Miri—Marudi travelling time". The Borneo Post. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.

[5] Hose, Charles; McDougall, William (1912). The pagan tribes of Borneo; a description of their physical, moral and intellectual condition, with some discussion of their ethnic relations, vol.2. Macmillan and Co. Ltd. p. 279. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015. Alt URL

[6] Madian, Amrizan (2011). "Baram Regatta A Testament Of Racial Harmony". Bernama. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.

[7] "Climate: Marudi". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 29 October 2020.

[8] "Fort Hose, Marudi, Sarawak". Sarawak Tourism Board. Sarawak Tourism Board. Retrieved 4 February 2015.

[9] "Marudi's version of char kway teow a must-try". Borneo Post Adventure Team, Sarawak. 17 June 2017. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2020.