History Of Sarawak Flag

Sarawak Flag

The Sarawak flag was adopted by the Parliament of Sarawak in 1988. The flag was first raised at the National Day parade in Kuching on August 31, 1988.

Interpretation of the three colours
Red Colour: symbolises the courage, determination and sacrifices of the people in their tireless pursuit to attain and maintain progress and esteem in the course of creating a model State;
Yellow Colour: denotes the supremacy of Law and Order, unity and stability in diversity.
Black Colour: symbolises the rich natural resources and wealth of Sarawak such as petroleum, timber etc. which provide the foundation for the advancement of the people;
The Yellow nine pointed Star denotes the nine divisions where the people live in harmony. The Star symbol also embodies the aspiration of the people of Sarawak in their quest to improve their quality of life.

On 9 March 1963 the independent Sarawak adopted the old State flag but with proportions 1:2. When it joined Malaysia on 16 September 1963 the State flag remained unchanged.

The 1973 flag is indeed linked to the Brunei Rebellion. The Brunei Rebellion flag was based on Indonesia's (the bulk of Borneo is in Indonesia). The green triangle at the left side of the flag represents the unity of Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei under the rule of the Muslim sultan of Brunei. An earlier discarded variant of the Brunei Rebellion flag made its way to Sarawak and became Sarawak's 1973-88 flag. This was possible because one of the key participants in the Brunei Rebellion was a Sarawakian independence activist who later surrendered to the Malaysian government and received a pardon and political rehabilitation. When Sarawak needed to ditch its 1963-73 flag which was too British and colonial, he sold the blue-triangle flag of the Brunei Rebellion to the Sarawak state leaders. As for the new state flag of 1988, Sarawak did not readopt Brooke's colours. Brooke's colours are red and blue. Brooke changed the state colours of his kingdom to black, red and yellow because of the advice of the Bruneians, who form 20 per cent of Sarawak's population, and who ruled the state before he arrived in Borneo. Brunei's original colours are yellow (for the royalty), black (for the nobles) and red (for the masses).

According to some historian,the flag was instituted on 31-8-1973 (in remembrance of 10 years inclusion within the Federation of Malaysia). The colours of the flag are the national colors, to which symbolic significance as attributed: courage and perseverance (red), honesty and purity (white); and national feeling (blue)."

A Kenyalang (Hornbill) represents the State emblem. The 13 secondary feathers on its wings and tail represent the 13 states of Malaysia. The hibiscus, which is the national flower, is found below the wings and the State motto is 'Bersatu, Berusaha, Berbakti' (United, Industrious, Loyalty). On the bird's chest is a shield with the state colours: black, red and yellow.

This one is the old emblem with old sarawak flags