Sarawak

History

Mr. Jamshed Fozdar and his wife Parvati and son Vijay came to Kuching in 1951. He was the first Bahá’í to come to Sarawak. As a professionally qualified electrical engineer he obtained occupation in the private sector. Bahá’ís do not have paid missionaries and it is obligatory that all Bahá’ís seek means of livelihood to support their families and to serve mankind. Jamshed taught in the towns of Sarawak. There were numerous enrollments in Kuching, Sibu and Kanowit. All the early Baha’is were Chinese and a few Indians and there was no effort to teach the natives of Sarawak. In 1953, the first local spiritual assembly of the Bahá’ís of Kuching was elected.

Almost ten years later in December 1960, Mr. Yan Kee Leong, a well-known Malaysian Bahá’í visited Sarawak. He accompanied Mr. Philip Suning, an Iban Bahá’í from Brunei to the interior of Limbang. Mr Philip Suning was the first of many thousands of Ibans who later enrolled as Bahá’ís in Sarawak. Ibans are the largest ethnic group in Sarawak.

Other Bahá’ís came from abroad and settled in various parts of Sarawak, in Kuching and others in Kapit and Sibu. Among them were Mr. M. Maniam and Mr. K. Krishnan from Malaya. Mr. A.F. Beyzai from Iran, Miss Marjorie Lighthall, Miss Doree Thomas and Mr. Earl Mock and Mr. Harlan Lang from USA; Mr. Lele from India.

Mr. Jantom ak Ugo and Mr. Endam were among the earliest Bahá’ís in Limbang. Mr. Endam became the first Iban to attend the Bahá’í World Congress in Longon in 1963. He was given a good ‘press’ in London as a visitor from Borneo. Mr. Theenathayalam, Mr. Karuppion, Mr. Ponnusamy, Mr. Sugumaran and family, Capt. Choo Yeok Boon and Grace Choo, Mr. Kuppusamy and Mr. Stanley stayed here long and rendered valuable service.

Also of significance were the frequent, highly effective visits by Mr. Ganesamurthy, Mr. Isaac d’Cruz, Mr. Ramanaidu, Mr. Bornoh Das and his brother Ravi. The Bahá’í message was carried to indigenous tribes and a spark was lit, bursting soon into a flame. From modest beginnings around Limbang, the movement spread rapidly around Kapit and Kuching. Within another ten years, there were thriving Bahá’í communities in all the towns of Sarawak and several hundreds of rural communities, which now includes the Iban, Bidayuh, Melanau and Kayan tribes and recently even the Penans.

In 1964, there were more than 300 Bahá’í communities throughout Sarawak strong enough to elect their own local spiritual assemblies.

Contact

Sarawak National Spiritual Assembly Office
P.O. Box 95
93700 Kuching, Sarawak
Malaysia

Phone: 082-252009
Fax: 082-419028

National Spiritual Assembly

See: NSA:Sarawak

External links

• Official Website