Realignment of Sarawak Administrative Areas
A Transformation To Spur A Balanced Regional Development Of The State

Terma Rujukan (TOR) Untuk Naiktaraf, Mencantum dan Menutup Pusat Pentadbiran dan Persempadanan Semula Pentadbiran 1. Untuk menwujudkan daerah kecil atau menaik status daerah kecil kepada daerah penuh berdasarkan kepada prinsip untuk membolehkan kerajaan memberi perkhidmatan secara ekonomik dan efisen 2. Untuk membuat persempadanan semula pentadbiran bagi bebe-rapa kawasan bertujuan untuk memudahkan penduduk untuk berurusan dengan pejabat Kera-jaaan yang berdekatan supaya mereka boleh menikmati perkhidmatan Kerajaan yang lebih cepat dan efisen 3. Untuk mencantum atau menutup mana-mana pusat pentadbiran (Daerah-Daerah, Daerah Kecil dan Pejabat Wakil Ulu Sungai -URA) yang mengalami aktiviti urursan rasmi yang berkurangan ekoran peningkatan kemu-dahan perhubungan dan teknologi maklumat.

"The Government's policy on development is geared towards a balanced progress for the benefits of all. It is not compartmentalised into urban development for the non-Bumiputeras. All races should benefit equally".
- YAB Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud

That was his dream. The vision to bring Sarawak and its people into the mainstream of development. This process took a long time but it brought progress and development to the state and benefited a lot of people. One sign of this progress is when an area becomes too big to manage and has to be sub-divided so that it can be administered more efficiently.

The Rajah's Territorial Administration Policy

The partitioning of Sarawak into several divisions started during the Brooke government's rule. First introduced in 1873, Sarawak was divided into five divisions namely Kuching, Simanggang, Sibu, Miri and Limbang. The reason for the division was to enable efficient governing and administration of the area. Sarawak, whose size is almost equal to that of the Federation of Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia) has become too big for the Brooke government to administer centrally.

With the partitioning, the 5 divisions were put under the control of one Resident each and his district officers. The day-to-day operation of each division was administered by the Resident office with the assistance of several Sarawak Administrative Officers (SAOs)..

After Sarawak gained independence in 1963 and became part of the Federation of Malaysia, the Sarawak's new government focused its attention to development and the business of building the State.

University Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) campus in Samarahan

The issue of security was also important. With that the need to promote efficient administration and governing became even more pronounced.

Sibu was the first of the original five divisions to be sub-divided. Sarikei became the 6th division on 1st April 1973 and Kapit became the 7th Division on 1st June 1973. The next division formed was Bintulu in 1988 to spur the development of its oil and gas industry in the early 90s.

Kuching was next to be sub-divided to form Samarahan Division in 1988, changing the number to nine divisions. Samarahan Division was considered important for the overall development of the Kuching Division especially its high-technology industries. Kota Samarahan was set to become the education hub of Sarawak to facilitate the human resource needs of Kuching's fast expanding high-tech industries. Two local universities - UNIMAS and UiTM were set up in Kota Samarahan in the 90s.

To enhance the economic progress and prosperity of the people through a balanced regional development of the State, especially for districts that are densely populated and endowed with the resources to sustain the expected increased economic activities and population growth, the government may decide to upgrade them into divisions. The recent upgrading of Mukah and Betong into the 10th and 11th Divisions respectively is such case. With the formation of these new divisions, the government can look forward to greater prosperity and progress through a balanced regional development for the areas and its people.

Administrative Areas Ordinance

The upgrading of a district is governed by the Administrative Areas Ordinance Cap 34. under the Administrative Areas (Order) 2002.

The majestic Bintulu Development Authority Building. Bintulu's symbol of progress & development	The gas industry in Bintulu

It is an Ordinance to empower the Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri to reconstitute , and regulate the boundaries of, administrative areas in the State Of Sarawak and for matters connected herewith. [Laws of Sarawak Cap 34. 16 June, 1948] ( see boxed article )

Committee for Realignment of Administrative Boundaries (CRAB)

Mukah New Township

The upgrading of an area into a division is not a simple process. A Committee for Realignment of Administrative Boundaries or CRAB headed by the State Secretary will coordinate the process once it is proven that the upgrading is necessary and viable to spur economic growth and overall development of the area.

The decision to upgrade a district to a division may be initiated by the government or the people themselves through their MPs.

The Committee for Realignment of Administrative Boundaries or CRAB is divided into two levels : the Steering Committee headed by the State Secretary and the Technical Committee headed by a Special Projects Administrative Officer.

Other members of the Steering Committee included the two Deputy State Secretaries, State Attorney General, State Financial Secretary, Director of Land and Survey, Director of Public Works Department, all Residents and the Director of the relevant Chief Minister's Department while the Technical Committee comprises of representatives from the General Administration Unit, Human Resource Management Unit (CMD), Deputy State Secretary Office, Land & Survey Department, Ministry of Environment and Public Utility, Public Works Department and the Resident /District Offices involved.

The Committee will prepare a Cabinet Paper to be tabled at the State Cabinet Meeting for approval. The whole process can take a period of 1 – 2 years depending on the need of the area, its people and the government

LAWS OF SARAWAK Chap 34 ADMINISTRATIVE AREAS ORDINANCE (revised -2000) Short Title 1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Administrative Areas Ordinance Interpretation 2. In this Ordinance - "administrative area" means any area which the Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri may, in the exercise of its power under this Ordinance , declare to be a division, district, sub-district or other administrative area but does not include a local authority area as defined under the Local Authorities Ordinance, 1996 (Cap 20) Powers of Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri 3. 1) the Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri may by order published in the Gazette- a) divide the State of Sarawak or any part of the State of Sarawak into divisions, districts or sub-districts b) divide the State of Sarawak or any part of the State of Sarawak into administrative areas, in addition to or in lieu of the areas to in paragraph (a), and prescribe the expressions by which such areas shall be known c) prescribe the relations of administrative areas to one another and that the officer in charge of such administrative area as may be specified shall be subordinate and responsible to the officer in charge of such other administrative area as may be specified d) prescribe the title of officers in charge of particular administrative areas or such classes of administrative area as may be specified e) prescribe a place to be the headquarters of any administrative area f) prescribe a name for any administrative area: and g) define the boundaries of administrative areas 2) An order may be made under this section in respect of all or any of the matters referred to in subsection (1) and in respect of the whole or any part of the State of Sarawak

Vital Criteria to Fulfil

There are basically 5 criteria to be fulfilled before an area can be considered for an elevation of status from a District to a Division.

The first criteria is its total population including the density and spread of the population. A total population of between 100,000 - 150,000 is considered sufficient to form a Division.

Another consideration is its economic potential. It should be significant enough to sustain future development and is able to spur economic growth by creating business oppor-tunities and employment for its expected booming population.

The third criteria is the proposed division's 032002 economic activities. Is it substantial enough to support new pace of development that will follow with the upgrading?

Next is the local niche. What is unique or of great potential about the area needs to be considered as well.

And last but not least, there must be adequate infrastructural facilities and network within the proposed division to sustain the development expected with the elevation of status. For example, are there enough power supply, good communication facilities, banking services, good transportation network, housing and accommodation, schools and many more. All these infrastructure must be available before an area can be considered for upgrading.

The New Administration and its Expectation

A Division is headed by a Resident. There will be one Resident Office and one District Office. The District Office is headed by a District Officer and assisted by several SAOs. Each Division will be covered by at least two Members of Parliament (MP). When an area is upgraded into a Division, the following five key government agencies must be set up. They are the Resident Office /District Office, Land & Survey Department, Public Works Department (JKR), Drainage and Irrigation Department and Agriculture Department. The rest of the state or federal government agencies will be set up later depending on the needs and requirements of the new Division.

The elevation of an area into a new division comes with a certain expectation. The upgrading is expected to boost the economy of the new division by creating business opportunities and creating employment to sustain the growth of the population expected with its new status. How much a new Division can deliver depends on a lot of factors such as infrastructural facilities, economic potentials, good leadership, strong government support etc. but eventually it is up to the people themselves to ensure that their new Division prosper with the passage of time.

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