By Christopher Lidom
KUCHING, July 17: Deputy Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government Michael Tiang clarified that he does not support the flying of Sarawak’s colonial flag on Sarawak Day.
When contacted by DayakDaily yesterday, Tiang said he was referring to the old Raj of Sarawak flag instead of the old colonial flag as mistakenly reported.
Meanwhile, in his Facebook post on July 16, Tiang said he supported flying the old Raj of Sarawak flag in honouring the State’s history and origin of independence.
“Our history forms our identity that builds our future,” he said.
James Brooke originally used the St George’s Cross as the State’s flag. The decision for Sarawak to have its own flag was made in 1845, but it was not hoisted until Sept 21, 1848.
The first Sarawak flag was originally made up of a cross, half-blue and half-red, on yellow, thought to be based on Brooke’s coat of arms. However, there is a controversy on whether the first flag was made up of purple and red or blue and red.
Following that, on May 7, 1870, the colour of the half-blue cross was changed to black by the second Rajah, Charles Brooke, and was hoisted on Sept 26, the birthday of the then Rajah Muda Charles Vyner Brooke.
It was retained as a coat-of-arms on a Blue Ensign when Sarawak was ceded to the British Crown on July 1, 1946.
The 1870 version saw continued use even after the cession, flying side by side with the Union Flag.
Upon the formation of Malaysia and subsequent independence of the State, the flag remained in use and unchanged until 1973. — DayakDaily
