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History of Scouting in Sarawak
Scouting came to Sarawak in 1915,
about five years after it was introduced in Malaya (now Peninsula
Malaysia). The Hockien Free, now renamed the Chung Hwa Primary
School No. 1 was the first school in Kuching to start the movement
through the effort of its Principal, Mr. Cox, who began
familiarising a small group of pupils with the basic Scouting
activities. At about the same time, an expatriate Mr. Currey from
the SPG Mission also introduced the movement at one of its school,
the St Thomas Kuching. According to historical record, the movement
being new was naturally relatively unknown and unrecognised by the
local authority as yet. Basic Scouting skills were taught by leaders
through personal experience and from books on the subject brought in
from England.
Although the Scout Movement began as a very small group, its
popularity among school children was growing year after year. In
1940, the Movement had grown substantially to warrant its
affiliation to the Scouting Headquarters in Great Britain, the place
of birth of the Movement. This
gave the Movement in Sarawak further impetus to expand and garner
public support financially enabling it to improve the basic training
facilities.
Scout Movement in Sarawak continued to grow during the 50s and 60s
especially so when the then British Colonial Government gave it the
full recognition as an institution for the training of the local
youth.
In the early days, only children in the urban areas who attended
certain schools were privileged to become members of the Movement.
But after the 50s, efforts were made to spread the Movement. Miri,
the oil-rich town in Sarawak's Fourth Division became the first
outside the State Capital to establish Scouting in 1952 followed
soon after by Sibu, the administrative centre of the Third Division.
Sarawak's first Chief Scouts Commissioner was Mr. R. H. Hickling.
His appointment was made by the then British Governor and this
sparked off public interest in Scouting. There was spontaneous
effort to spread it throughout the country and the Department of
Education was tasked to it the necessary support to ensure success.
One positive step taken in this direction was the recruitment of a
special assistant from the UK, Mr. G. W. Stevens, as the
Co-ordinating Commissioner for Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei and he was
based at the Education Headquarters in Kuching.
The first Scout Patrol Camp in Sarawak was held in 1962 in Sibu
where Scouts from throughout the country gathered to socialise and
exchange ideas on Scouting.
After the formation of Malaysia in September 1963, the Sarawak
Scouts Association withdrew its affiliation with the Movement's
Headquarters in Great Britain and became a branch of the Malaysian
Scout Association.
Since then, the Sarawak Scouts Association has been involved in
training thousands of youngsters in the Scouting skills and many
became leaders in their own rights. Today, many who had left the
Movement after school to become professionals in the various fields
in both the public and private sectors have come back to rejoin it
at various levels, thus giving it the much-needed input and support
thereby increasing its credibility and public awareness of its
useful role in the social development in the country.
In May last year, the Sarawak Scouts Movement has been given the
honour to host an international Jamboree - the BIMP-EAGA Jamboree
2000 - which will be held at the 200-acre camp site at Matang, about
22 kilometres from Kuching.
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