Kuching

Kuching /ˈkuːtʃɪŋ/ (Jawi: کوچيڠ‎; Chinese: 古晉; pinyin: Gǔ jìn), officially the City of Kuching,[6] is the capital and the most populous city in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is situated on the Sarawak River at the southwest tip of the state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo and covers an area of 431 square kilometres (166 sq mi) with a population about 165,642 in the Kuching North administrative region and 159,490 in the Kuching South administrative region —a total of 325,132 people.

Kuching was the third capital of Sarawak in 1827 during the administration of the Bruneian Empire. In 1841, Kuching become the capital of Sarawak after Sarawak was ceded to James Brooke for helping the Bruneian empire in crushing a rebellion. The town continued to receive attention and development during the rule of Charles Brooke such as the construction of sanitation system, hospital, prison, fort, and a bazaar. In 1941, the Brooke administration had a Centenary Celebration in Kuching. During World War II, Kuching was occupied by Japanese forces from 1942 to 1945. The Japanese government set up a Batu Lintang camp near Kuching to hold prisoners of war and civilian internees. After the war, the town survived intact. However, the last Rajah of Sarawak, Sir Charles Vyner Brooke decided to cede Sarawak as part of British Crown Colony in 1946. Kuching remained as capital during the Crown Colony period. After the formation of Malaysia in 1963, Kuching retained its status as state capital and was granted city status in 1988. Since then, the Kuching city is divided into two administrative regions managed by two separate local authorities. The administrative centre of Sarawak state government is located at Wisma Bapa Malaysia, Kuching.

Kuching is a major food destination for tourists and the main gateway for travellers visiting Sarawak and Borneo.[9] Kuching Wetlands National Park is located about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the city and there are many other tourist attractions in and around Kuching such as Bako National Park, Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF), state assembly building, The Astana, Fort Margherita, Kuching Cat Museum, and Sarawak State Museum. The city has become one of the major industrial and commercial centres in East Malaysia. 

The name of "Kuching" was already in use for the city by the time Brooke arrived in 1839.  There are many theories as to the derivation of the word "Kuching". It was perhaps derived from the Malay word for cat, "kucing" or from Cochin, an Indian trading port on the Malabar Coast and a generic term in China and British India for trading harbour. Some Hindu artefacts can be seen today at the Sarawak State Museum. However, another source reported that the Kuching city was previously known as "Sarawak" before the Brooke arrived. The settlement was renamed to "Sarawak proper" during the kingdom expansion. It was only in 1872 that Charles Brooke renamed the settlement to "Kuching".

There was one unlikely theory based on a story on miscommunication. According to the story, James Brooke arrived in Kuching on his yacht "Royalist". He then asked his local guide about the name of the town. The local guide thinking that James Brooke was pointing towards a cat, and said the word "Kuching". However, ethnic Malays in Sarawak usually refer the name of a cat as "pusak" instead of the Malay word "kucing". 

Some source also stated that it was derived from a fruit called "mata kucing" (Euphoria malaiense),  a fruit that grows widely in Malaysia and Indonesia. There was also a hill in the city that was named after the fruit, which is called Bukit Mata Kuching. While as been written by a British woman to her son in the 19th century, it was stated that the name was derived from a stream of a same name, called "Sungai Kuching" or Cat River in English.  The river was situated at the foot of Bukit Mata Kuching and in front of the Tua Pek Kong Temple. In the 1950s, the river became very shallow because of silt deposits in the river. The river was later filled to make way for roads. 

 There is another theory that Kuching actually means "Ku"(古） - Old and "Ching"（井） - Well or "old well" (古井) in Chinese. During the Brooke administration, there was no water supply and water-borne diseases were common. In 1888, an epidemic broke out which later was known as "Great Cholera Epidemic". A well situated in the present day China Street in Main Bazaar helped to combat the disease by providing clean water supply. Due to increased demand for a water supply, the role of the well was later replaced by water treatment plant on the Bau Road.

Sarawak was part of the Bruneian Empire since the reign of first Brunei sultanate, Sultan Muhammad Shah. Kuching was the third capital of Sarawak, founded in 1827 by the representative of the Sultan of Brunei, Pengiran Indera Mahkota. Prior to the founding of Kuching, the two past capitals of Sarawak were Santubong, founded by Sultan Pengiran Tengah in 1599, and Lidah Tanah, founded by Datu Patinggi Ali in the early 1820s.

Pengiran Raja Muda Hashimit later ceded the territory to a British adventurer, James Brooke as a reward for helping him to counter a rebellion. The rebellion was crushed in November 1840, and on 24 September 1841, Brooke was appointed as the Governor of Sarawak with the title of Rajah.  It was not announced until 18 August 1842, following Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II's ratifying the governorship, and requiring Brooke to pay an annual sum of $2,500 to the Sultan.  Since that time, Kuching became the seat of the Brooke government.

The administration was later continued by his nephew, Charles Brooke. As an administrative capital, it became the centre of attention and development.  Improvements included a sanitation system. By 1874, the city had completed several developments, including construction of a hospital, prison, Fort Margherita, and many other buildings.