Sambal Tumis Is Now in Miri City

28th Nov 2008, Sambal Tumis was relocated to the first Oil Town Of Malaysia, Miri (now upgraded to City status), Sarawak. We have left Kuching with many fond memories and beautiful experiences. It was where Sambal Tumis was born, learned to walk and talk and perhaps run a bit. From now onwards Miri shall be Sambal Tumis new home and all postings shall be definitely be influenced by the new surroundings and local Miri climate. Perhaps the readers may want to know a little bit about Miri City and we hereby gladly paste some info about the city....

Miri

Miri is a city in northern Sarawak, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. Miri is home to a population of about 300,000 people and is thus the second largest city in Sarawak. It serves as the government administrative centre of Miri District (4,707.1 square kilometers) in Miri Division of Sarawak. Miri was elevated to city status on May 20, 2005Malaysia. and it is the 9th city in Malaysia and its local authority i.e. Miri City Council is the 10th city council in

Miri is the birthplace of Sarawak's and Malaysia's petroleum industry, which remains the major industry of the city. The first oil well was drilled by Shell in 1910, and is now a state monument and one of Miri's tourist attractions. Shell also built Malaysia's first oil refinery in Lutong, a suburb of Miri in 1914. Recently, vast oil reserves were discovered just offshore northeast of the city. Miri has grown phenomenally since oil was first discovered in the early 1900s, burgeoning into the modern and dynamic business, commercial and educational centre it is today.

The city's other major industries include processed timber, oil palm production, and tourism. The world famous Gunung Mulu National Park with the Sarawak Chamber, a half an hour flight from the city, is one of the favourite eco-tourism destinations. Miri is also the main tourist gateway for the Loagan Bunut National Park, Lambir National Park and the Niah Caves at the Niah Caves National Park. Miri is lately known for its exotic coral reefs as well.

History

The earliest evidence of human population in the area dates back to 35,000 BC, from the nearby Niah Caves. ^[3]The earliest officially recorded oil find in Malaysia was made in July 1882 by the British Resident of the Baram district in Sarawak. The oil was used by the local residents for medicinal purposes and later for lighting lamps and waterproofing boats. Commercial exploitation only began in 1910 when the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company, the forerunner of the present Sarawak Shell which was granted the sole right to explore for petroleum in Sarawak, struck oil in the town of Miri, marking the start of the Malaysian petroleum industry.

By the 1950s, attention turned to the seas as the onshore oil fields in Miri shows serious depletion. This was made possible by new improvements in offshore petroleum technology. Marine seismic surveys were carried out for the first time in Sarawak in 1954. The shift offshore began to show results in 1962 with the discovery of oil in two areas offshore Sarawak. Other finds followed in rapid succession. The first offshore oil platform was West Lutong, about 6 miles from shore.

The last onshore oil field was shutdown in early 1970s as oil production from offshore Miri started. Miri started developing very fast ever since the Parliament enacted the Petroleum Act which force Shell and Exxon to share their oil revenues with the people of Malaysia. It is by this time that Miri began developing its tourism and service industry.

In 1989, the vision for Miri to become a city was mooted. The proposal received the blessing of Sarawak state government in 1993. A public forum was held in 1994 and a grand signature-collecting campaign was organised in 2004 and more than one-third of the population in Miri had put down their signatures in support of the government's efforts for Miri to obtain city status. Miri had the city blue-print drawn up in the early 2000s, while the government together with the private sector had managed to fulfill the Federal Government's ten main criteria of becoming a city. The Sarawak State Government approved the then Miri Municipal Council's application for Miri to be elevated to a city and concurrently the Council to be upgraded as Miri City Council on 20 May 2004. The Federal Government approved its application on 16/3/2005.

The Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak made an order on 12 May 2005 on the establishment of Miri City Council. The King of Malaysia, Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di-Pertuan Agong XII issued the Instrument for conferment of city status of name Miri City Council on Miri Municipal Council with full jurisdiction on Miri City on 13 May 2005. The appointment of Mayor, Deputy Mayor and City Councillors of Miri City Council was published on Sarawak Government Gazette on 19 May 2005. On 20 May 2005, the official proclamation of Miri City and appointment of Cr. Dato Wee Han Wen as first Mayor of Miri City Council were held at Miri and this was then followed by city day celebration. Now, 20th May every year is the Miri City Day.

Demographics

Miri's population consists of Chinese, Dayak, Malay, Melanau, Indian, Kayan, Kenyah, Kelabit, Iban, Bidayuh, Penan and other indigenous groups. Through this broad classifications, the races are further sub-divided into different tribes, each having their own particular areas of abode, occupation and language.

Tourism

Miri is often called the Northern Gateway to Sarawak and is one of the state's main and most important tourist attractions. It boasts to be surrounded by four world-class national parks (Mount Mulu National Park, Niah National Park, Lambir Hills National Park and Loagan Bunut National Park).

National Parks

The Gunung Mulu National Park is a certified UNESCO World Heritage Site and boasts the world's largest natural cave chamber, the Sarawak Chamber.

The Niah Caves (the largest caves in SE Asia) in the Niah National Park are an important archaeological and historical site as one of the oldest human remains in South East Asia was found here.

Lambir Hills National Park contains very diverse species of flora and fauna and is ranked as the 12th mega-biodiverse site in the world. The Loagan Bunut National Park has Sarawak's largest natural lake and also contains diverse species of birds. There is also the recently gazetted Miri-Sibuti Marine National Park that has one of the region's most beautiful coral reefs and diverse marine life. ^[6]

Grand Old Lady and Petroleum Science Museum

Historically, Miri is a town founded upon oil and nothing captures this relationship so well than the Miri Oil Well No.1 or fondly known as the "Grand Old Lady".^[7]

The "Grand Old Lady" was situated on top of Bukit Telaga Minyak (Oil Well Hill). It was formerly called Canada Hill (the old folks said that there was one Canadian who lived there and his main business was to recruit foreign and local workers to work in the oil fields around this mountain). Oil Well No. 1 is the first oil well in Malaysia to be drilled by Shell Company in 1910. After a productive six decades and estimated 660,000 barrels of oil, it was shut down in 1972. It was eventually declared a national monument.

There was a lookout tower near the monument where the visitors can have a good view of Miri City with the sea as its horizon. The tower was dismantled to make way for the construction of Miri Petroleum Science Museum and it is now being replaced by a viewing platform provided on top of this Miri latest landmark. The museum itself also provides various kinds of exhibitions apart from those related to oil industry.

The Grand Old Lady is accessible through narrow and steep road. While slowly moving your way up to the hilltop, you can have a glimpse of the nice scenery on both sides of the city which is being divided by this hill.

Beaches

Miri, being geographically close to the sea, boasts some spectacular beaches. Some of the popular beaches include Tanjong Lobang Beach (Taman Selera), Luak Esplanade, Hawaii Beach, Bekenu-Sibuti Beach, Marina Park, Lutong Beach and many more.

Coral Reefs

The Miri Reef off Miri is one of Malaysia’s most recent discovered diving locations. Within this patch of reefs at varying depths, from 7 to 30 meters, there is a variety of coral and marine life that rivals the best anywhere in Borneo.