INTRODUCTION

Located on the north-western coast of the island of Borneo, Sarawak is Malaysia's largest province, covering a total of 124,449 sq km or approximately 37.5 per cent of the total land area of the country. It holds rich resource deposits of petroleum, natural gas and, until recently, timber. The 2000 National Census put its population at 2.07 million, consisting of numerous diverse ethnic communities, the six largest being Iban (28.6 per cent), Malays (21.4 per cent), Chinese (27 per cent), Bidayuh (8 per cent), Melanau (5.6 per cent) and Orang Ulu (6 per cent). Of these, approximately 0.997 million were urban residents with the remaining 1.074 million being rural dwellers (Malaysia 2000).

Sarawak's tryst with globalization began with its formal in- corporation into a global capitalist economy in 1841, with the arrival of the Victorian buccaneer, James Brooke, who established himself in the territory as a self-styled autocratic White Rajah. The Brooke Raj lasted 100 years, until 1941 when the Third Rajah, Charles Vyner Brooke, in a secret agreement with his own Committee of Administration, sold his rights as Rajah and granted a Constitution to Sarawak in exchange for substantial financial payments. Subsequently, in 1946, after the end of Imperial Japanese rule, the territory was ceded by Charles Vyner Brooke to the British government for a further financial settlement. British Colonial rule lasted for 17 years, after which, under the pretext of independence, Sarawak was forced into a merger in 1963 with the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, and Sabah to form the Federation of Malaysia.

Since its formal incorporation into a global capitalist economy, Sarawak has seen a remarkable amount of social and economic transformation, the most significant phase occurring from 1970 onwards. High economic growth with dramatic physical and social changes wrought by globalization, as mediated through national policies like the New Economic Policy (1970–90) and the National Development Policy (1990–2000), have brought about an admirable surge of development achievements.