By Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING, Feb 16: Driven by a thirst for knowledge, Danish freelance history and cultural researcher Ib Larsen led a small group of enthusiastic researchers from Kuching to Kalimantan around 15 years ago to follow in the footsteps of the Hakka mining kongsi, looking for evidence of their presence from their 18th-century arrival in Northwestern Kalimantan.
Larsen, who has been living and working in Malaysia for 17 years, of which eight were spent in Kuching, highlighted the history of the Hakka mining kongsi in northwestern Borneo and their relation to the Bau Kongsi and the attack on Kuching during a talk titled ‘The Roots of the Hakka Mining Kongsi in Bau’ at the Borneo Cultures Museum today.
“We also looked into their growth and the establishment of strong kongsi societies, the fierce kongsi wars, their escape to Sarawak, and their tragic, bloody fate a hundred years later,” he said.
He said they examined the kongsi led by Liu Shan Bang and his role in history, questioning whether they were sincere Sarawakian freedom fighters or intruders from neighbouring Sambas in Indonesia.
Liu was a Chinese gold miner in Bau and was best known as the leader of the 1857 Chinese Uprising against the White Rajah James Brooke.
Larsen also highlighted how Liu led a large group of Chinese miners and his kongsi commandaries down the Sarawak River to attack Kuching and the White Rajah on February 18, 1857.
“The rebels managed to take control of the city but missed catching the Rajah. The expedition ended as a total disaster for the miners.
“After a few days, they were driven back, and the majority were killed along the way, mainly by Iban warriors loyal to the Rajah,” he said.
Larsen added that after the disastrous rebellion in Kuching, the kongsi was gone for good, though a few Chinese continued mining under the control of the Rajah.
The talk was organised by Friends of Sarawak Museum (FoSM), with its president, Datu Ose Murang, present. — DayakDaily
